HUNTERS ARE THE HUNTED
by Dr. Weird
Summary: Ryuusei no Rockman/KHR/BLEACH/Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's/Kuroshitsuji/FMA much more x-over. What starts as a frontal attack on WAZA slowly erupts into a good vs evil smackdown, putting Kodoma, Karakura, Namimori Towns and Neo Domino City in a battle unlike any other
1. Hunters Are The Hunted, First Verse

Disclaimer: I do not, repeat, DO NOT, own Ryuusei no Rockman or any elements of other anime included in this story. I wish I did. __ __ -hides from lawyers-

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Summary: Taking place a short time after the events of RnR 3 / Megaman Starforce 3, strange crimes were taking place. It is the targets that raise serious attention at WAZA; the targets are people capable of Denpa-Henkan. But the perpetrator, or _perpetrators_, are not as they appear to be… And why do one of them know a certain important someone among our heroes? And what is this strange feeling about him they're getting…?

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WARNING: This follows the gameverse, but also has ties to the anime version This is ALSO a potential anime crossover. There are chances of elements from BLEACH, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, Katekyo Hitman Reborn!, and a few potential other anime and games in this story. If you like these anime and games, then COOOOOOOOOL~. If not, you're welcome to join the ride.

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Chapter 1: Hunters Are The Hunted, First Verse

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It was a rather sunny day in Kodoma Town. The sun was shining, animals were playing about, Misora Hibiki's new single was being broadcasted on the LCD screens, and… Denpa viruses were wreaking havoc on the hanging train? Oh yeah, _that's_ pretty normal.

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeyah!! Somebody help me!" A random, run-of-the-mill citizen screeched as she was hanging out the edge of the doorway, hanging for her life. An onboard Satella Police officer who happened to be on the train reached for her, only to fall short of her grip and to catch the attention of several Mettena viruses – they didn't look too happy.

"Damn it! If I could just--!" He never finished the statement at the Mettena stated to strike at him, causing him to lose his grip on the pole he was hanging on, and he too was hanging for his life. Looking angered, one of the Mettena struck the edge of the doors, cleaving the edge of the door and florr into little pieces, sending the two humans to their imminent doom.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!", the young woman screamed.

'_Looks like this is the end…!_', the Satella Policeman squinted.

Suddenly a strange noise and 2 beams of blue and pink were seen.

Rockman and Harp Note were able to catch the two falling people in the nick of time, several yards from hitting the ground.

"Phew! That was a close one!" Warrock exasperated from Rockman's Hunter VG on his wrist.

"I know! This was the third time today, too.", Harp, Harp Note's guitar sighed.

"Well's there's no point in complaining about, you two. But still…"

"_Ano_… you could let go now, mister.", the woman stated, surprising Rockman for a second.

"Oh, sorry.", Rockman replied sheepishly, as they both let the two down, and came to the Satella Policeman.

"So, this is the _third _time this happened, you said?", the Satella Policman asked, concerned.

"Yeah, it was _so_ weird! _Mo_~", Harp sighed.

"What could cause viruses to go nuts like this? It so weird…" Rockamn asked to no one in general.

And then a wurring noise was echoing and closing in on the group, with a familiar "GOYOUDA, GOYODA, GOYODA, GOYODA!!" could be heard.

Rockman and Harp Note had instantly displeased looks on their faces, while Warrock could be heard saying, "Aw, HELL no…"

Guess who? It was Detective Goyoda in all of his limited glory. "HUH?! Damn it!" Late to the scene AGAIN!", the Detective spazzed while kicking his car door.

"_Ano_… what's wrong, Detective?" Harp Note asked, cautiously also preparing for the worst.

"Oh, I'll tell you what's wrong! Three times, there were strange virus attacks! Three times, the Satella Police are late! And three times--!!", the Detective looked up, and suddenly his voice became grave.

"…And three times the viruses suddenly disappear without a trace. Look."

Complying, the other five, Subaru, Warrock – who materialized –, Misora, Harp Note and the Satella Policeman looked up, only to find the evacuated wrecked train completely deserted, with anime-like blinking lines to emphasize the statement.

A collective "EEEEEEEH?!?" was accounted for.

"What is going ON?!", Warrock screamed, clutching his head in frustration.

"Got me.", the Detective sighed. "But something tells me that it's highly unlikely that the viruses suddenly got smarter."

"What exactly are you implying, Detective Goyoda, sir?", the policeman meekly inquired.

"Well, call me crazy…" "Already on it.", Warrock whispered, only to be smacked on the head by Subaru (who is still Rockman at this point), whining in return.

"…But I personally think someone's pulling the strings on this thing. I've never seen viruses act so violent and then just disappear without a trace before by themselves. It's too unlikely."

"But who could do something like this, I wonder…" Misora trailed off.

Suddenly, the four human's Hunters beeped, and the insignia for WAZA was displayed.

The image then switched to a video recording of Shidou Akatsuki, more commonly known as Ace at times.

"This is a message to all Satella Police members and Project – TC members! We have a situation. Those of you who receive this video are to report to WAZA immediately! This is not a drill! Repeat, this is NOT a drill!"

And with that, the feed disconnected.

"Let's go!" Subaru stated, and he and Misora hopped onto the Wave Road and sped towards WAZA.

Detective Goyoda and the Satella Policeman got into the Detective's car and sped off as well, leaving the scene to a mysterious figure, all alone.

The only thing one could see was the figure's chin, which revealed him to be light-skinned, with split-ended snow white hair covering the left side of his face. He had a whizzing cigarette in his mouth.

"So… they started to follow the bread crumbs, eh?" His frown slowly turned into a small smirk. "This'll be too easy." The figure chuckled darkly. "Now to do _my _part."

And with that the figure suddenly vanished.

-

The scene alters to the outside of WAZA, where Rockman and Harp Note de-transformed, and met up with, to their surprise, Shidou at the front door.

"Hey, guys!" Shidou beamed his big smile almost non-human. "You guys are looking lively."

"We could say the same!" Misora beamed back. "Ever since the Meteor G incident, we've haven't seen you or Acid at all."

"Oh great, you brought up _his_ name…", Warrock grunted.

"That remark will not be forgotten so easily, Warrock.", Acid replied as he suddenly materialized, scaring the AM Seijin. "GAK! Don't do that!", Warrock yelled angrily.

"So… what's going on, Shidou-san?", Subaru inquired.

Shidou's smile turned into a serious face. "Alright. Follow me."

After going into an elevator and going all the way to the 57th floor, to the group's, minus Shidou and Acid, surprise, there were others in the room.

"Gonta-kun! Class President! Utagai-san! Juro-san!... Tsukasa-kun!" Subaru exasperated.

"It's been a while, Subaru-kun.", Tsukasa smiled. "It sure has., Subaru beamed.

"It's a Denpa-Henkan extravaganza!" Warraock remarked, impressed.

"Of course, not everyone's here yet, but we'll have to do. Jack, Queen Tia, and a few others will be arriving late."

"But Luna can't Denpa-Henkan, can she?", Misora cocked her head. "That isn't the main concern. I'll show you."

He began to walk back to the elevator, stopping in mid-step, catching everyone by surprise. "You may not like what you see."

-

The group descended to the 45th Floor; the Hospital Wing.

The group checked in with the reception desk and walked all the way to the end of the hall.

They opened the rather large door, and both humans and EM Beings alike were in horrified shock. Even Taurus, Wolf and Tsukasa looked pale.

"Oh my God…" Wolf whispered, his ears drooping. "You can say that again.", Ox uttered.

"What… happened?" Subaru's eyes shrunk. He looked like he was going to throw up.

Before the group were Cancer Bubble and Goat Kung-Foo, both in cryogenic healing chambers, both in particularly bad shape. But were covered in extensive bruising and bandages, even in Denpa-Henkan. They were both unconscious.

"Hey, they're…! Uhhhh…", Subaru gasped in surprise, then stammered. Turns out he forgot their names.

"Kenta Yagi and Chiyokichi Kasami, respectively. Also known as Goat Kung-Fu and Cancer Bubble.", Shidou read off a clipboard.

"So they both can Denpa-Henkan? So why are they… you know…", Tsukasa questioned, and eyebrow ridged.

Shidou gulped slightly, signifying something, but said "To be honest, I'm not quite sure. But it's very unusual; it's as if both the human and Wizard counterpart for both Cancer Bubble and Goat Kung-Fu were… how should I put this…", he trailed off, putting a hand to his chin.

"'Assimilated', perhaps?", Acid inquired. "Uh, sure, let's go with that." Shidou beamed, causing everyone to weird out or facefault.

"It's as if the two core consciousnesses for both of them were forcefully fused together. It's as if their souls were mixed together. It's unlike anything I've, let alone anyone else, ever seen before. But as far as I can tell…"

He pointed at Goat Kung-Fu. "…They're not doing too well. Not after what I was able to scrap together…"

"_Ano_…", Utagai trailed after raising his hand. "What is that entail... exactly…?", he trailed off.

"Using satellite footage, I was able to detect that these two were fighting someone or something really, and I mean _really_ powerful. They were in a lot worse shape than right now, trust me."

Turning back to the chambers, he continued. "But from what I was able to tell, they weren't fighting viruses or another EM Being…"

"Well that rules out viruses… wait, did you say _not_ an EM Being??", Harp bursted.

Warrock scratched his chin. "Suddenly, this just got my attention. Heh heh heh." Subaru silently smacked his face. "_Warrock, for God's sake_…"

"It _is_ interesting actually, because from what WAZA was able to distinguish, which was very little, by the way…" Shidou trailed off.

Everyone started to lean slightly.

"This being… is _human_."

"…EEEEH!?", everyone basically yelled in surprise, causing Shidou to plug his ears with two fingers, looking disgruntled.

"Trust me. I'm just as confused as you are. But what _really_ confused me was the appearance of our 'perpetrator'."

The video feed on the screen of the room revealed footage of a robed figure fighting hand-to-hand with Goat Kung-Fu.

-

Goat Kung-Foo was fighting vigorously against a figure draped in a dark blue hood and robe. From what was visible, the figure had green bangs hang from the crown of its forehead and sideburns. His hands, covered in white bandages, revealed the figure to have light, almost pale skin.

They appear to have been fighting at an edge of Dossy Lake, thus attracting attention from frightened tourists who scurried away from the fight.

"_Hmm. Looks like we have a… how should I say it… a 'captive' audience…? Heh heh heh heh…_", the figure chuckled.

Goat's eyes flashed with anger, ever so slightly. "_You touch one hair on any of them, and you'll pay with your life!_" Goat yelled, obviously angered.

"_Wonderful! Your anger is simply exquisite! Yet you are so terribly misguided_.", the figure suddenly disappeared for a second to Goat's surprise.

He suddenly looked down, and saw the figure crouched down inches from him, and suddenly slammed his fist unto his jaw.

"_You were wide open, my friend. __**Wide**__ open_."

Before Goat Kung-Foo could retaliate, he was met with a powerful axel kick to the cranium, while his shrouded opponent was in the middle of a handstand, thus kicking him face-first into the grassy soil.

Goat Kung-Foo struggled to get up, obviously in severe physical pain.

"_This isn't one of your precious 'Wave Battles', my friend. This is __**war**_.", the figure said, saying the word 'war' venomously.

Goat Kung-Foo was panting hard. "_This… pain… it's unlike… anything…I…_"

"_Let me guess_._ 'Unlike anything you've felt before'? Please. That's just so droll of a response. But if you think this pain is bad, try __this__ on for size_."

Confused for only a second, Goat Kung Foo's eyes visibly shrunk as he felt an excruciatingly painful jab in his stomach. This was obvious as Goat started screaming bloody murder, while the figure's bandaged fist emitted an eerily green, almost lightning-like flame, which was starting to cleave into his Denpa-flesh.

"_Ooooooh, this scream… not sweet enough but it'll do."_, the figure muttered drolly as Goat Fung-Foo's screaming ceased, for he then removed his fist, dropped him to the ground like a ragdoll, and kicked him into Dossy Lake at his skull like he was a soccer ball.

Then the figure opened a swirling black portal by wagging his right pointer finger. As he walked in, he only muttered one word.

"_Disappointing_."

As he left, two or three bystanders dove into the lake to help fish out the poor child, who was basically drowning although Denpa lifeforms can breathe underwater, while others either contacted police or stood there in shock, most children among them scared half to death.

-

"…And there you go.", Shidou solemnly stated. "The same thing virtually happened with Cancer Bubble." He looked to the chambers. '_Poor kids_…'

Everyone else in the group looked totally in awe, horrified awe.

"Wait, there's still one thing I don't understand.", Luna asked.

"Oh? What's that?", Shidou asked.

"I can understand everyone else, but I can't Denpa-Henkan. I mean, there _was_ that accident, but…"

"I understand that, Luna, but please understand. According to what he also gathered, Kenta-kun was attacked _before_ he assumed Denpa-Henkan. This leads me to believe that anyone related to the process is at risk of danger. Including you, Luna.", Shidou replied.

"R-really?", Luna gaped, scared with her hands in front of her mouth.

"Unfortunately…", Shidou began.

"Then what about Kizamaro-kun? He's in Ameropa visiting family right now; what happens if--" Subaru inquired.

"He, along with his family, are under surveillance guard of WAZA's Ameropa branch. He and Pedia have been hanging with you guys for a while now; I wouldn't be entirely surprised if he became a target.", Acid stated monotonously.

Subaru, Luna and Gonta paled slightly. "Don't worry.", Shidou stated. "He's the _least_ likely person to be targeted, but even so we're not taking chances.", Shidou explained. "For all we know--"

Suddenly the alarm began blazing, as sirens alarmed.

"WARNING! WARNING! UNIDENTIFED INTRUDER ON THE PREMISES! WARNING! WARNING! UNIDENTIFED INTRUDER ON THE PREMISES! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! REPEAT! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!"

"What?!" Shidou practically blurted out. "An intruder?! NOW?!", Ox yelled over the siren. "500 Zenny says that it's that guy from before!", Warrock boasted. Wolf and Taurus looked like they were in on the 'bet'.

Everyone, minus Luna, Denpa-Henkan'd and zoomed to the entrance of the infiltrated headquarters, seeing a lone, cloaked figure.

The figure appeared about 6 feet tall. Not much was distinguishable except for the lower half of the figure's face revealing pale skin. A lone cigarette was dangling out of the left side of his mouth, partially obscured by white hair.

The members of Project-TC, the Satellite Server, tensed, as the opposing figure made no moves. Until finally…

The figure's right hand slowly stated moving, pulling off the cloak.

Rockman, Harp Note, Ox Fire, Cygnus Wing, Wolf Forest and Gemini Spark – both halves-, even Luna who was observing from behind the glass door, were surprised by the figure's identity.

The figure was a male young man, about Shidou's age- maybe younger-, with snow white hair jutting in several directions, with hair spiking down the left side of his face. His eye, once closed opened to reveal a deep cerulean shade of blue. He wore jeans and a white T-shirt reading "NICE VIBE" in giant charcoal black letters. He wore two katana-like blades on his waist behind his back in an X-shaped fashion. Both blades had furry tassels and their handles were wrapped in a cyan cloth.

Acid Ace, upon seeing the figure, even though it wasn't visible was shocked. '_No! It couldn't be…!_'

Finally, the figure made his move by slowly wrapping his hand around the cigarette, inhaling and blowing smoke in the group's direction. His facial expression showed cold disinterest.

"Shidou Akatsuki…", he finally said. The other Denpa-Henkan-ers were surprised after calling their 'leader' by name. Acid Ace took a small step back, taken aback by the statement.

"And you are…?" The figure's eyebrows burrowed slightly. "Oh come now, Shidou Akatsuki. You mean to tell me you don't recognize me?"

Acid Ace's posture basically screamed the kind of stance one assumes as if their worst fears have come to fruition.

"No way… Is that… really you, Fubuki?" A bead of sweat was visible on his cheek.

Everyone else looked really confused. "Uh… do you know him?" Harp Note inquired.

"But you… I thought… _we_ thought you were…" Acid Ace, Shidou trailed off.

"_Dead_? Please. You and those foolish siblings, even that moronic King, were too absorbed by the incident to learn what _really_ happened on that day. Stupid is as stupid does, if you as me.", the figure, Fubuki, shrugged.

"And what's _that_ supposed to mean?!", Acid Ace yelled back. "…Perhaps you might have the capacity to guess while you suffer a painful death, I suppose."

Before Shidou could register what that meant, the white-haired young man literally warped in front of the white Satella Policeman, and slashed him twice at the stomach with both swords; no one saw it coming.

Then the figure kicked the falling man in the head with his shin, casting over Acid Ace like a football dummy.

Wolf Forest, enraged, attempted to sneak behind the human, only for Fubuki to whirlybird-kick the lupine man at the side of his skull, knocking him down. Fubuki's visible eye revealed a look of absolute annoyance. "Sneaking up on me – bad idea."

He then turned around, disappeared in the midst of twisting his waist, and reappeared socking Cygnus Wing in the nose and taking the opportunity of his opponent's shock to ram the hilt of the blade in his right hand into his enemy's skullcap, landing the avian warrior face-first into the ground, the beak of his helmet stuck in the hardened and metallic earth.

"Looking surprised at my way of fighting – an even worse idea."

Rockman, Gemini Spark and Harp Note were frozen in place, in utter aw of the scene, in just 20 seconds, three qualified members of the Project-TC, three Denpa-Henkan lifeforms, were all down for the count, picked off like flies by a single human. A powerful human at that. Even Warrock, battle-hungry as he is, was in a state of shock.

But that didn't stop Ox Fire. Gonta starting running at an incredible speed, holding his arms like he was cradling a football. "OX…!!"

Ox Fire changed Wave frequencies at the last second, baffling the white-haired young man. "!!"

Ox Fire reappeared behind his target, still running. "…_TACKLE_!!"

Ox Fire, clumsy as he is, revealed a more intelligent side of him as his spilt-second plan landed the first successful blow on the WAZA intruder. The human's body bounced of the ground three times from the force, and somersaulted in midair and landed crouched on his feet to avert a fourth, leaving a small trail of earthen dents and dust trails.

"Well,… didn't see _that_ coming…", the figure grumbled.

"HA HA HA!! Not so tough now, are ya?!" Ox Fire gloated, laughing loudly. Rockman and Harp Note smiled openly slightly. Perhaps they stood a chance, not that Acid Ace, Wolf Forest and Cygnus Wing slowly, but surely, got back up.

Gemini Spark- both With and Black - took the opportunity to sneak to either side of Fubuki and yelled "ROCKET KNUCKLE!!" simultaneously.

"Sneak attacks don't usually succeed twice in a row you know!" Fubuki retorted before disappearing again. This time it looked like he disappeared with an afterimage.

-

A lone figure, the only visible part of the vision being his mouth line, chin, neck and part of his left shoulder revealed white skin, a black robe with a white trim, and small protrusions of spiked orange hair. "That move…"

He gritted his teeth and grabbed for something apparently located on his right shoulder, off screen.

-

The scene returned to Fubuki disappearing in mid-attack of the Rocket Knuckles. Both fists clashed and the Gemini twins winced, their arms returning to them.

Fubuki returned behind Gemini White, smashing his hard in the back to the head with the blade's hilt in his left hand.

Before Gemini Spark Black – Hikaru – could retaliate, he felt a sting feeling in his chest as a blade carved through his chest area. The pain of the attack forced Gemini Spark to pulse out, leaving an unconscious Tsukasa on the ground clutching his stomach.

"So… anyone _else_ want to try my patience?", the albino-haired man questioned, his visible eye with a glazed look.

"OX…!!" Ox Fire exclaimed, charging towards Fubuki and disappearing again.

"Not this time!", Fubuki yelled, warping again behind where Ox Fire would reappear, thus shocking everyone still conscious.

"Look out! Gonta-kun!!", Luna yelled from the doorway. Fubuki, luckily for her, paid no heed.

Ox Fire was stabbed in the back by the blade in his left hand, and whilst the big Denpa cross yelped in pain, Fubuki began murmuring something so fast, no one could understand him, until…

"Hadou 11. _Tsuzuri Raiden_! (_Lit_. "Bound Lightning")", he yelled as he struck the hilt of the plunged blade with the tip of his other sword, conducting powerful electricity, electrocuting Gonta's and Ox's combined form with an enormous amount of lightning.

Ox Fire began screaming at the top of his lungs, as the force of the attack cancelled the Denpa-Henkan and knocked both boy and alien-Wizard thing unconscious, Gonta barely breathing.

"Now to finish this. Say your prayers, fatty.", He sais as he pulled the sword that was previously impaled in the warrior off the ground and readied both blades above his head.

To everyone's shock and horror as no one could make it in time, all seemed lost.

"GONTA –KUUUUUUN!!" Rockman, Harp Note and Luna yelled, off screen, as in slow motion, the blades inched closer to the fallen boy.

Wolf Forest, Cygnus Wing, and most importantly, Acid Ace looked horrified. Acid Ace, even though he couldn't do a thing, ran towards the scene, yelling, "FUBUKIIIIII!!!"

And suddenly, when all hope was lost…

"_GETSUGA TENSHOU!!" _ (_Lit_. "Cutting Moon Heavenly Fang")

A lone, cleave-shaped cyan blast of energy came speeding towards Fubuki, who blocked it almost effortlessly, but warped away about 40 feet from Gonta's body from the attack's force.

Rockman, Harp Note, Acid Ace, Wolf Forest and Cygnus Wing, and Luna separately, stood amazed at the sight before them.

A tall, male figure with short, spiky orange hair wearing a black kimono pants with a white stripe at the neck and fold appeared, clutching a strange black cleaver wrapped with white bandages at the supposed handle of the blade, which was indented.

The male figure had serious chocolate-brown eyes, and a slight scowl. He was staring Fubuki down, his sword-holding hand tensing.

"Hey, you. What's going on here?"

He turned his head slightly, towards the group behind him. "So… I take it you guys can see me, huh? I'll explain later."

Suddenly, War-Rock, Harp, Acid, Wolf and Cygnus materialized beside their partners. "Who _is_ this joker?" War-Rock muttered.

Fubuki looked less than pleased. "Orange hair…"

The way he stated the last statement caused the robed man to squint and raise a brow. "Come again?"

"Large Zanpakuto…"

The Project-TC members looked confused. "Zanpaku…to?" Subaru repeated to himself.

"And the unmistakable stench of a powerful Hollow..." This caused to figure to tense in surprise, his eyes visibly shrunk slightly. "What… did you just say?"

Fubuki cracked a small grin. "There's no mistake. You're him. You're…", he began as he readied his blades.

And the screen turned black.

"…The Substitute Shinigami, Ichigo Kurosaki."

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…TO BE CONTINUED …

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Next Time: Hunters Are The Hunted, Second Verse

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So how was _that_ for a cliffhanger? Alright, if you like it, please read and review! :3


	2. Hunters Are The Hunted, Second Verse

Disclaimer: I do not, repeat, DO NOT, own Ryuusei no Rockman or any elements of other anime included in this story.

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PREVIOUSLY…

_Ox Fire began screaming at the top of his lungs, as the force of the attack cancelled the Denpa-Henkan and knocked both boy and alien-Wizard thing unconscious, Gonta barely breathing._

"_Now to finish this. Say your prayers, fatty.", He said as he pulled the sword that was previously impaled in the warrior off the ground and readied both blades above his head._

_To everyone's shock and horror as no one could make it in time, all seemed lost._

"_**GONTA –KUUUUUUN**__!!" Rockman, Harp Note and Luna yelled, off screen, as in slow motion, the blades inched closer to the fallen boy._

_Wolf Forest, Cygnus Wing, and most importantly, Acid Ace looked horrified. Acid Ace, even though he couldn't do a thing, ran towards the scene, yelling, "FUBUKIIIIII!!!"_

_And suddenly, when all hope was lost…_

"_**GETSUGA TENSHOU**__!!"_

_A lone, cleave-shaped cyan blast of energy came speeding towards Fubuki, who blocked it almost effortlessly, but warped away about 40 feet from Gonta's body from the attack's force._

_Rockman, Harp Note, Acid Ace, Wolf Forest and Cygnus Wing, and Luna separately, stood amazed at the sight before them._

_A tall, male figure with short, spiky orange hair wearing a black kimono pants with a white stripe at the neck and fold appeared, clutching a strange black cleaver wrapped with white bandages at the supposed handle of the blade, which was indented._

_The male figure had serious chocolate-brown eyes, and a slight scowl. He was staring Fubuki down, his sword-holding hand tensing._

"_Hey, you. What's going on here?"_

_He turned his head slightly, towards the group behind him. "So… I take it you guys can see me, huh? I'll explain later."_

_Suddenly, War-Rock, Harp, Acid, Wolf and Cygnus materialized beside their partners. "Who is __**this**__ joker?" War-Rock muttered._

_Fubuki looked less than pleased. "Orange hair…"_

_The way he stated the last statement caused the robed man to squint and raise a brow. "Come again?"_

"_Large Zanpakuto…"_

_The Project-TC members looked confused. "Zanpaku…to?" Subaru repeated to himself._

"_And the unmistakable stench of a powerful Hollow..." This caused to figure to tense in surprise, his eyes visibly shrunk slightly. "What… did you just say?"_

_Fubuki cracked a small grin. "There's no mistake. You're him. You're…", he began as he readied his blades._

_And the screen turned black._

"…_The Substitute Shinigami, Ichigo Kurosaki."_

-

Chapter 2: Hunters Are the Hunted, Second Verse

-

The air around the entrance area to WAZA lay silent, the only momentary sound being the moderate breeze blowing by.

"W-wait a minute. The _hell_ is going on here?" Ichigo Kurosaki, the robed figure, spat.

Fubuki's unchanging facial expression raised a slight brow. "Oh?"

"You know about me, but I don't know squat about you." He then raised the large sword in his hand at a surprising speed for a sword that large. "So start talking. Who the _hell_ are you?"

Fubuki sighed. "You know, saying 'hell' with emphasis twice in 30 seconds won't get you very far with me. Nor will raising a weapon to my person. You may want to try again, punk.", Fubuki glared with the last comment.

"Don't give me that crap! I asked you a question! So unless you want my blade through your chest, start talking."

"You, threaten me? Please. You have just as much sway over me as those pathetic Satella Police watchdogs.", he said coolly. "Oh, and by the way, you, a Shinigami who's only prowess in the subject is a Bankai – a sorry excuse of one at that – are in the same _class_ as them; merely insects before my power."

"Shinigami?? Bankai?? ARGH! What are these guys _talking_ about?!" Warrock shouted through clenched teeth, rubbing his temples.

"Ha. If you're really that interested, you can all ask him. In Hell, that is." Fubuki spat.

Ichigo then noticed the swords he was carrying. A small smile was painted on his face. "So… it's starting to make sense."

Fubuki's expression showed slight uneasiness, his visible eye leering. "And _that _means, dare I ask?"

"The swords only added to your words, and your use of Shunpo." Fubuki's expression showed that of angered shock. '_Crap!_'

"Those swords, Shunpo, and your knowledge of Shinigami… Let me guess; you _are_ one! You're a Shinigami!"

Subaru and those who were still conscious were very confused. "So that's guy's… Fubuki's… like the orange-haired kid?", The Juro side of Wolf Forest spoke. "I guess…", Wolf replied.

Fubuki's expression changed to a small malevolent smirk. "Close, but no cigar."

Ichigo was taken aback by the comment. "What are you saying?! Those Zanpakuto are--! …!! Hey,… you're not wearing a shihakusho!"

"A shi-_what now_?" Warrock questioned. "Ergh… all this talk about Shinigami is starting to hurt my head… eeeerrgh…"

Shidou was still paying close attention. "Fubuki's… a Shinigami…? A… god of death?", he asked himself weakly.

Cygnus Wing caught wind of his quote. Utagai started to freak. "Wh-whoa! A _god of death_?! Isn't that a little extreme??" "Calm down!" Cygnus barked lowly. "This isn't the time!" "S-sorry… Cygnus…"

Fubuki sighed. "You see, you're only half right, Substitute Shinigami. I have a Zanpakuto, the symbol of the Shinigami. But in case you haven't realized, I'm still very much alive."

Ichigo was seriously taken aback by the comment, stepping back twice. "W-wait a second! Are you saying that…?"

"I'm saying that you and I are more alike than you envisioned. But unlike you, I don't _need_ to remove my soul from my body to assume my powers. Which reminds me…"

His face turned into a dark smile. "I wonder what will happen if I destroyed your human body…? It _must_ be close by. Perhaps on the roof or the surrounding cliff?", he slyly grinned.

The Shinigami expression literally read him saying the F-Bomb several times. He then furrowed his brow in an attempt to make a poker face.

"You really want to risk turning your back to me looking for it?"

"It won't matter. You're on my list anyway." "List?", Ichigo questioned cautiously, raising his sword. "What list?"

"What else?", Fubuki retorted before disappearing and reappearing behind Ichigo. "My "To-Kill" list, dumbass."

Ichigo instinctively blocked the two smaller Zanpakuto with his large cleaver and turned to face him. "Ha! It'll take more than that to get rid of me!"

"I thought as much." Fubuki muttered dryly. He instantly warped away again, this time above Ichigo, much to his surprise. "!!"

"Hadou 4! _Byakurai_!" (_Lit_. "White Lightning") Fubuki fired a bolt of white lightning from the tip of his blade. Ichigo warped away from the bolt in time, only for him to be struck in the shoulder by a second bolt and stammered from the shock. "!!"

"Got you!", Fubuki shouted, charging from the sky from where he was floating.

Rockman and the others shared a collective shocked expression from the sudden action of hopping on thin air.

Ichigo warped again, narrowly escaping a blade through the neck, causing Fubuki to crash into the ground, forming a small crater in the ground. Fubuki's feet pushed against the impact. "You won't escape!"

Ichigo's eyes shrunk as he saw the enemy figure closing in on him fast. Fubuki's blades inched from the orange-haired Shinigami before a strange blasting noise was heard and a pained look was on Fubuki's face.

Fubuki, grunting, turned to see Rockman had fired a shot at him.

"I don't know what's going on, but you won't get away with whatever you're planning!", Rockman yelled.

"You little shit… you have no idea who you're messing with…", Fubuki gritted menacingly.

Suddenly he darted from Rockman, who was shocked at his instantaneous speed. He was warping slightly from side to side to keep the boy-alien combo guessing, the said warrior's eyes darting from left to right.

The warrior yelled "BattleCard! Break Saber!!" as a precaution and assumed a pink and magenta electromagnetic sword on his left hand and wrist.

Fubuki smirked slightly and reappeared behind the unsuspecting warrior, swords raised high. Rockman's eyes shrunk to the size of dimes as he turned as realized he couldn't block in time.

Before the blow could be struck, however, Ichigo reappeared between sword and target and blocked with his giant sword. Small sparks flew from the clashing blades. "!!", Fubuki's expression read.

"Rockman, was it? Thanks for the save earlier. Call this payback.", Ichigo spoke.

"…It's Subaru.", Rockman smiled slightly. "Subaru Hoshikawa."

Ichigo smiled, even though Subaru ultimately only heard a 'heh'-like noise. "Ichigo Kurosaki."

" If you're _quite_ finished…", Fubuki spat poisonously. Fubuki began to apply more pressure to his swords, causing Ichigo to start faltering.

"Damn it… this guy's crazy strong…!" Ichigo gritted.

Fubuki's expression did not change. "Looks like this is the end of the strawberry.", he said flatly.

Acid Ace and the other conscious TC members were in total awe. Shidou's mouth, still visible on Acid Ace, looked like he was making an unnerved face.

"_This guy… he's not like the Fubuki I knew… what __happened__ to him…_?", he thought to himself.

-

Luna Shirogane, still behind the bulletproof glass doors of the front entrance, looked with a grim face.

Gonta was down for the count. Tsukasa was down and was in possibly very bad shape after Gemini Spark Black – Tsukasa – suffered a stab to the chest.

Subaru was fighting for his life and the only thing between the boy she liked and death was a savior in black garbs and a large sword, who he himself wasn't looking like he could fare much longer.

"Hoshikawa-kun…"

"So _he's_ Subaru Hoshikawa… the legendary Rockman."

This caught Luna's attention, as she saw two figures to the left side of her vision.

One was a boy about Subaru's height, wearing a orange and cream-white hoodie sweatshirt with the hood down and black pants. The downed hood revealed the boy to have upside-down pinecone-shaped brown hair. He also appeared to be wearing weird white mittens with two red stripes and a blocky red '27' on both mittens.

The second figure was barely a foot tall, foot-and-a-half tall. He was clad in a black suit with his upper head masked by a black fedora with an orange stripe across where the hat meets its rim. He seemed to have black hair, with unmistakably weird curly sideburns. He was holding a green pistol-like gun at gunpoint of Fubuki.

"Should we help him…?", the boy asked cautiously. "You're the to-be Boss of the Vongola Family and you're asking a stupid question like _that_?", the baby-like figure retorted, his eyes shaded by the rim of his fedora.

"…Right.", the boy nodded as he fetched from a strange blue pearl-shaped pill from his pocket and popped it into his mouth.

"What's going on?" Luna asked, not sure if they heard her.

"Don't worry. We've got it covered.", the boy said in a slightly calmer tone.

This, along with what appeared to be a vibrant orange flame from his forehead, caught Luna off guard.

-

Ichigo's arms were stating to weaken, his muscles tiring. '_Damn it! How strong __**is**__ this guy?!_' The ground under Ichigo's feet began to crumble. Fubuki's swords were pressing harder on the opposing cleaver.

"I'm going to finish you off, you carrot-topped lo--…!!!"

Instinctively, Fubuki placed his feet on Ichigo's cleaver and jumped off, narrowly escaping a small pillar of flame aimed directly at him. Fubuki instinctively swung around swiped at the figure behind him, revealing it to be the boy from earlier. His mittens were replaced with black leather gloves with metal knuckles, joints and fingers encompassing his hands. The back of the gloves sported large blue circular half-orbs rim-studded with the word "Vongola" in capital metal letters.

The flame on his forehead was in full flicker, sporting a mélange of shades of orange and yellow. His eyes were a strange pattern of dark orange rimmed by brighter oranges and yellow outline; it was almost like he was wearing strange contacts.

"You will stop.", the boy said calmly. His eyes screamed determination. Fubuki's eyes, however, displayed annoyance.

"Great.", Fubuki spat sardonically. "It's weird enough that the Shinigami shows up in Kodoma, and now the freaking _Vongola_ show up? What is this, a faction convention to you or something?"

"Excuse me?", the newcomer asked, his eyebrow raised.

"Not that you'd care, but _seriously_; what the _hell_? First, I deal with WAZA. Then, this carrot-topped Shinigami shows up, and now, _you_, the 10th Boss of the Vongola Mafia Family. What is this to you, a freaking game? Get lost!", the white haired young man prattled.

"Big words from a thief, you pompous bastard.", the baby in the back said flatly. "You think you can say that after stealing from the Vongola and injuring our men without a trace? You've got guts for a dead man.", he said, cocking his green handgun dangerously.

"Oh, please! Like an Acrobaleno like yourself can actually lay a dent on me. And besides, even if you could, I could cleave you and this shrimp-boat pupil of yours down to size so much even your precious Guardians couldn't find you!"

"Wait a freaking minute! _You're _Mafioso?! Let alone the _Boss_?!", Ichigo stammered in disbelief.

"Is that good?" Warrock asked out loud to no one in particular. Rockman sweatdropped.

"Trust me; the Mafia is not something you want to mess with…" Subaru whimpered. Wolf Forest and Cygnus Wing shuddered at the thought.

"We Vongola aren't ruthless; in fact we're quite charitable.", the baby said with a matter-of-factly smile.

"Alright, this is becoming ridiculous!", Fubuki roared, his blades knocking Ichigo down when he let his guard down. "You claim that I stole from the Vongola, when in fact is you Vongola that stole from _me_!"

Many of the people around him looked surprised. The boy's orange eyes shrunk slightly, while the baby's eyes were shadowed by his fedora.

"Oh, but it's true. You stole from an associate of mine, so I returned the favor. You're not the only ones who can utilize Dying Will Flames, you know!"

That lines caused the calm boy to take a step back, while the baby's head shot up instantly, as if that term struck a chord. Fubuki's expression changed to a small devious smirk.

"Dying _what now_?!", Harp asked, baffled. As soon as she said that, Fubuki's right hand clenched slightly, and a red and pink flame appeared on the largest joint of his middle finger. The flame slowly grew and enveloped the Zanpakuto in his right hand.

The Denpa-Henkaners were in shock and awe. "It's pretty…" Misora, as Harp Note, murmured.

The baby's eyes furrowed. "It's as I feared."

"Dying Will Flames…", the boy furrowed his brows. "What's worse…"

"Storm flames; the flames of destruction.", Fubuki finished, smirking. As he said that he once again disappeared and reappeared behind the newcomer boy.

"Behind you!", Subaru yelled.

Instinctively, the boy turned around and grabbed the incoming flame-coated fist with his gloved hands. He failed however to block a foot to the face, narrowly dodging a broken nose.

The conflict slowly erupted into Fubuki increasing his speed and amount of blows which the boy kept struggling to dodge and/or block.

At the point where the boy made a strong block, Fubuki warped again and struck him in the back of the head with the hilt of his sword and span to roundhouse kick him at the spinal cord.

The boy was flung towards the entrance of WAZA, with Luna in total shock. "AAAAAAAAAAH!!"

"Tsuna!", the baby yelled. "Stop holding back!", the baby rose his voice.

"Did I just hear that right??", Wolf Forest asked out loud.

At the point, Tsuna made a sharp 90 degree turn by firing the same Dying Will Flames from his gloves out of the palms of his hands. He was literally floating in midair.

"_S-Suge_!", Ichigo gawked. "He's levitating!"

"Well, we shouldn't let him have all the fun! Let's go Subaru!" War-Rock roared.

"Right!", Subaru replied. "Sounds good to me!", Ichigo yelled as the new supposed allies charged forward, Ichigo taking Fubuki's right, and Rockman Fubuki's left.

"!!", was all Fubuki could express while Tsuna came flying back towards him with a flurry of punches.

"_Getsugaaaa…_!", Ichigo began rearing back his giant cleaver, a white flame-like aura seeping on the blade.

"Charge…!!" Rockman began and his left arm's device turned into the Rock Buster.

"_TENSHOU!!_ / SHOT!!"

Both attacks hit dead on, while Tsuna backed off by firing flames from his hands to propel him away in time.

"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!", Fubuki roared as he emerge from the dust cloud, his "NICE VIBE" shirt partially tattered and his hair and skin covered in soot and dust.

"You… _bastard children_…! I'm now _officially_ pissed!", he roared as a dark crimson aura engulfed him. The aura was so thick that the ground beneath him began to crackle and disintegrate, causing a large gaping hole in the ground.

"Uh oh, I think we made him mad…!" Cygnus Wing exasperated with an "OH SHI--!" face.

Acid Ace grit his teeth. "Fubuki!!", he roared, standing up and appearing in front of Rockman, Ichigo and Tsuna.

"Fubuki, you have to stop! Don't you even recognize me?!" "Shidou…" Acid whispered in surprise of his partner.

"Recognize? Oh, I recognize you, all right. I recognize you as the PRICK who left me for dead all those years ago!! You! The guy I considered my best friend! And how could I forget?! Tia and Jack were there! YOU THREE BETRAYED MY TRSUT!!!", Fubuki roared, his visible aura increasing violently to the point where the underground wiring connected to WAZA became severely damaged as electricity and Denpa waves began to go haywire inside the building. The lights were going out via exploding light bulbs. Luna screamed and ducked in cover, along with everyone inside.

The thought of Cancer Bubble and Goat Kung-Fu, still inside injured and in cryogenic healing chambers, sparked inside the white-clad warrior's minds. "At this rate, you're going to kill someone! Have lost your mind?!"

"The only thing 'lost' around here is your right to exist, you traitorous bastard!"

"We couldn't find you back then! We really tried! But the place was on fire, and it was on an abandoned island! We were only children, we couldn't do anything in that fire!!"

"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR EXCUSES!!", Fubuki roared, the mere force of his scream causing Shidou to lose his footing and collapse from the sheer reiatsu spill. '_Can't… breathe…!_'

"I'm going to wipe you all of the face of the Earth! Solemnly Decimate!!"

Then he had a strange expression on his face, as if a lightning bolt passed through him. His demeanor calmed dramatically. "Well, now…"

This worried the group. Suddenly, he started walking away.

"I'm done with this crap. See ya." He then started warping away.

This left the Denpa-Henkan-ers in confusion, even more so now that they realized that Acid Ace was gone.

"Wasn't there a guy in white armor with you?" Tsuna asked, his voice still low and calm, a brow raised.

-

Acid Ace entered the Wave Road, running at fast speeds. His teeth were heavily grit. The same thought kept racing threw his mind. '_Fubuki… what on earth HAPPENED to you…?!_'

"Shidou…", Acid stammered. "Who exactly _is _Fubuki?"

"…"

"Shidou?"

"…" His partner was deep in thought.

"SHIDOU! SNAP OUT OF IT!"

"!! W-what?! What happened??" "Shidou, you're hiding something from me; that's not like you."

"I know. It's just that Fubuki…all those years ago, something… happened. Something I was never proud of."

"You said 'we' several times. Were you referring to Jack and Tia?" "Yeah… we could never forget that day, no matter how hard we tried. Fubuki… he was my best friend, and I let him… I let him… _I let him_…"

"It's okay, I understand. You let him down and want to make up for it. Right?"

"Badly.", Shidou finished sullenly. His face then changed to that of fierce determination.

He then caught something in the corner of his eye. A small portal was open on a rooftop near him. It was Fubuki.

"Fubuki!!", Shidou yelled as he jumped off the Wave Road and onto the building's rooftop, startling Fubuki, but only for a second.

"Oh great. _You_. Sorry to disappoint, but I'm in a hurry. As the baby from before says… '_Ciao_.'", he said as he stepped into the closing portal.

"Fubuki!!" But it was too late; he vanished. "Fubuki… Oh, wait a minute, that's right!"

Acid Ace warped onto the Wave Road and headed back towards WAZA.

-

Acid Ace returned to the scene of the battle a minute later, where everyone was either searching or tending to Gonta's and Tsukasa's wounds. Luna was outside.

"So you're good guys right?", Luna asked both Ichigo and Tsuna.

"Y-yes.", Tsuna replied politely, his demeanor different than before and his eyes now a chocolate brown.

"Yeah." Ichigo asked, now in his human body. He was wearing a white T-Shirt with "HMNL" written on it and wore jeans. He looked slightly taller without his shihakusho on. Perhaps it was the hair.

Rockman, having carried Tsukasa on his back whilst Cygnus Wing and Wolf Forest were carrying the unconscious and obviously very large Gonta to the entrance of the building, where WAZA staff began to put them onto stretchers to head up to the 45th floor.

After exiting Denpa-Henkan, Subaru then looked very carefully at Tsuna's features, while the pinecone-haired boy did the same.

"Whoa. Almost like twins.", Ichigo and War-Rock said at the exact same time. They then looked at each other with a disturbed face and turned away.

"So!", Luna began. "I'm Luna Shirogane, Kodoma Elementary Class President. And you two are?"

"Tsunayoshi Sawada. Just call me Tsuna." "Ichigo Kurosaki."

"Doesn't Ichigo mean 'strawberry'? HA HA HA!! You're a fruit kid!" War-Rock laughed out loud, clutching his head.

"…Don't remind me…" Ichigo replied darkly. War-Rock stopped laughing.

Ac id Ace then returned and exited Denpa-Henkan, a small frown visible on his face.

Everyone still conscious ran up to him, Utagai and Juro having exited Denpa-Henkan.

"Where'd you run off to, Shidou-san?" Misora asked. "I thought I could catch up to Fubuki. But I was too late."

A collective "Oh." was heard. "Yeah."

"So how did you know that guy, anyway?" Wolf asked.

"Well…"

But before he could continue, the alarm was heard. "ALERT! ALERT! ANOMALY IN THE GENERATOR ROOM! ANOMALY IN THE GENERATOR ROOM!"

"The generator room?!" Shidou shrieked as he ran into the building. The others followed suit and ran with him into the elevator that led to the basement level.

When they got there, the room was lit with crackling electricity. "If any of the system get hit, who knows what'll happen!" Shidou exclaimed as he Denpa-Henkan'd into Acid Ace again.

"Gotta… shut… down… system!" He was then hit by a stray bolt of electricity. "ARGH!"

"Shidou-san!" Subaru yelled. Acid Ace signaled him to stay put. "I got this!", he yelled, smashing his hand on a large button, which caused the electricity to slowly die down.

If that wasn't enough, a strange crackling was heard as a small opening in front of the generator began to form. Two figures fell out of the opening facedown and closed.

One was a small boy with silver hair wearing a highly classy green jacket and dark blue shorts. He appeared to have a string wrapped around the back of his head, revealing to be wearing an eyepatch on his right eye.

The other figure was a tall, grown man in a butler uniform his neck-long raven-black hair.

They were both unconscious.

Shidou exited Denpa-Henkan and walked slowly to the unconscious twosome. The others were in just as much surprise as him and the newly materialized Acid.

"What… the… hell?" was all Shidou have to say.

-

TO BE CONTINUED…

-

Next Time: It Was Beyond The Aspect Of Understanding

-

Please read and review!


	3. It Was Beyond The Aspect Of Understandin

Disclaimer: I do not, repeat, DO NOT, own Ryuusei no Rockman or any elements of other anime included in this story.

-

"_So how did you know that guy, anyway?" Wolf asked._

"_Well…"_

_But before he could continue, the alarm was heard. "ALERT! ALERT! ANOMALY IN THE GENERATOR ROOM! ANOMALY IN THE GENERATOR ROOM!"_

"_The generator room?!" Shidou shrieked as he ran into the building. The others followed suit and ran with him into the elevator that led to the basement level._

_When they got there, the room was lit with crackling electricity. "If any of the system get hit, who knows what'll happen!" Shidou exclaimed as he Denpa-Henkan'd into Acid Ace again._

"_Gotta… shut… down… system!" He was then hit by a stray bolt of electricity. "ARGH!"_

"_Shidou-san!" Subaru yelled. Acid Ace signaled him to stay put. "I got this!", he yelled, smashing his hand on a large button, which caused the electricity to slowly die down._

_If that wasn't enough, a strange crackling was heard as a small opening in front of the generator began to form. Two figures fell out of the opening facedown and closed._

_One was a small boy with silver hair wearing a highly classy green jacket and dark blue shorts. He appeared to have a string wrapped around the back of his head, revealing to be wearing an eyepatch on his right eye._

_The other figure was a tall, grown man in a butler uniform his neck-long raven-black hair._

_They were both unconscious._

_Shidou exited Denpa-Henkan and walked slowly to the unconscious twosome. The others were in just as much surprise as him and the newly materialized Acid._

"_What… the… hell?" was all Shidou had to say._

-

Chapter 3: It Was Beyond the Aspect of Understanding

-

Shidou Akatsuki was very confused. First, viruses attack random parts of Kodoma Town and vanish without a trace. Then, he was forced to fight an old face from the past, and nearly died in the process. After that, the generator in WAZA's basement was about to explode, but he shut it down. Finally, as a consequence of doing so, he was electrocuted and a small child and an heir-apparent butler appeared out of a random portal, and now he has no idea what to do with them.

Shidou Akatsuki desperately needed a vacation.

But this wasn't the time to dawdle. Unconsciously, he ran to the two unconscious people and picked up the child. Upon flipping him over, he winced as he saw an eyepatch over his right eye. Upon inspecting his clothes, a green suit coat with a blue neck ribbon, a white dress shirt, and charcoal dress shorts, he appeared to be someone not from this area, let alone this time.

There was something else that caught his eye; a ring on his left thumb with a stunning blue crystal.

"Is that…?", he began as Acid came beside him. "Upon inspection, that appears to be the exceedingly expensive blue diamond."

"Blue diamond?! Let me see!", Luna yelped as she ran across the room to beside the boy. She stared long and hard at the ring, unnerving the blue-haired man. Her expression unnerved Shidou and cased both him and Acid to back away.

"This… this is real blue diamond!!" Luna gasped, mouth agape.

"Let me see.", the baby from before, properly introduced as Reborn, said, jumping onto and kicking off Shidou's head, hitting square between the eyes.

"…Yup; this is definitely blue diamond." "Wh-what was _that_ for?!", Shidou yelled, teary-eyed and a large red spot on his forehead.

Reborn turned around with his eyes partially shaded by his hat, a murderous look on his face and pulling out the gun that was made from the chameleon on his hat, Leon. "I'm sorry, _did you say something_?"

Shidou and Acid let out a "HEEEEEEEEEEE~!" noise, faces stricken with fear. Tsuna expressed the same face. "You're gotta be kidding…"

"Why is everyone picking on me…?", Shidou gloomed, sobbing slightly. Acid pat him on the back with a "There, there." kind of attitude.

"Well we have to get these guys to the hospital floor upstairs…" he pulled out his Hunter-VG, and called the 45th floor.

"This is Ace; send two stretchers down to the generator room ASAP… we got two injured civilians down here… Alright."

Hanging up, he turned to the new group. "So, what's going on, uhhh, Shidou-san, right?", Ichigo asked, leaning in slightly.

"The upstairs hospital wing is going to send some stretchers to pick these two up. I want all of you to go with them and keep watch."

Sure enough, the stretchers came not a moment too soon, and before Tsuna and Ichigo could enter the elevator, Shidou placed a hand on both of their shoulders. "Just a sec. My boss'll want an explanation of what you two are doing here. Civilians can't just be on WAZA grounds willy-nilly." "Okay.", Ichigo replied. Tsuna gulped nervously.

When the door closed, they were off to the 45th floor.

-

Meanwhile…

-

Fubuki was walking down a small, dark corridor and ended up in a dark laboratory room where the room was illuminated by a single computer screen.

"Well, aren't you all tatters and ruins? I take it they roughed you up some?", came a mature, yet sarcastic-sounding voice.

"Verde, huh? Figured you'd be here.", Fubuki replied drolly. "Oh don't give me that, Fubuki. 'Sides, you're the one who actually got to have all the fun.", the figure named Verde stated.

"Missions are not fun; it's your warped way of thinking. All that scientific prowess of yours going to waste with a psyche like that." The man said while adjusting his glasses, the frames reflecting the eerie blue-white light.

Turning around in his swivel chair, the figure revealed to have spiky green hair going towards the left with long sides, his upper face was obscured by the darkness. His skin was fairly pale. He was wearing a white lab coat with a green dress shirt and white tie. He had a sickening smirk on his face.

"I hacked into WAZA's camera system and saw the whole thing. I knew full well that you stealing back what the Vongola took from me would grab their attention. And if you ask me, the Shinigami kid showing up just makes it more… interesting, to say the least. There's just one _tiny_ quirk with this."

"Oh? That being…?", Fubuki inquired. "They appear to be showing signs of an alliance. This could go either way in our boss's grand scheme. Which reminds me…"

The figure trailed off to flex his left hand over his right middle knuckle, where a glistening dark-silver ring clamped. If one looked closely, there was a gray lightning bolt in the center of an upside-down shield-shaped face.

"I feel that my turn's going to come up soon. _Very_ soon. And I have the feeling that everyone at WAZA won't be the only ones to join the party."

"How so?", he asked, sounding slightly interested, yet sounding very unamused.

"Two things. I just saw that the hospital log at WAZA just admitted two unidentified persons. This was after you left."

"…I see. And the second?"

This was where Verde lifted his head revealing his deep forest green eyes, with a very small pair of glasses pinching on his nose. His smile grew.

"The Signers… they're moving."

"The Signers…", Fubuki began, the reflection of his glasses brightening. "Yusei Fudo… Where are they headed?"

"Here. To Kodoma Town." "!! So soon? Let me guess; Sector Security caught wind of my attack is wants Yusei Fudo and co. to check it out."

"Right on the money. Their arrival can go either way in our boss's plans."

"Well, then. We'll just have to dispose of them, right?" "Although I couldn't agree more, the boss made is explicitly clear not to intercept them on any front. Yet, anyway."

"Well, damn. Shouldn't we at least intercept their travel arrangements? I know they can't ride those D-Wheel motorcycles on a secluded tunnel. I bet they wouldn't know where it is."

"Sector Security and WAZA go way back, Fubuki. If you did more of your homework, you'd know that."

"I've hardly got any time to do some new research, so I would never guessed."

"It doesn't matter, I have access to every camera in WAZA and their modes of transport; figuratively, they got nowhere to hide.…Hm?"

"What?"

"It looks like they moved those two civilians into a room. Luckily it's got a camera."

A devious smile was on his face. "Get some popcorn; I think we're in for quite a show."

-

Subaru and his other friends sat in chairs aligning across from four beds. Gonta was covered in bandages and his left leg was suspended by ceiling straps. Tsukasa was hooked to an oxygen tank and IV because of Gemini Black's – Hikaru's- wound. The small boy and the butler were neatly tucked into their beds, resting.

"I wonder who those two are. They don't look like they're from around here.", Subaru asked to no one in particular.

"Ya think?", War-Rock expressed, completely bored. Suddenly the boy started to stir. "Looks like you spoke too soon.", he said as he floated over to the boy.

"War-Rock, what're you—Oh, no.", Luna began. War-Rock had _that _mischievous look again.

"War-Rock, you idiot, don't you dare!" Subaru began. Cygnus, Juro and Wolf stifled giggles.

Too late. The boy slowly open his un-patched eye. "Where… the hell… am I?" His vision slowly focused to see War-Rock about six inches from his personal space.

"…"

"…"

"…---!!"

"W-WHOA!!!", War-Rock yelled taken aback. Subaru, Luna, Utagai, Cygnus, Juro and Wolf instantly shot up.

"---!! SEBASTAIN!!"

The butler's eyes instantly opened, almost light speed. "Yes, My Lord?... OH, MY."

"'OH MY', MY ASS! WHAT KIND OF DEMON IS THIS THING?!"

"D-_Demon_?! Now hold on a minute!", War-Rock fumed. Subaru and Luna looked totally flustered. By now, Cygnus, Juro and Wolf were howling with laughter, on the ground.

"Lies! No creature in England that I've ever seen looks like the monstrosity you are!"

"_Monstrosity?!_ WHY YOU LITTLE--!!" Subaru instantly tackled War-Rock and tried desperately to keep him down.

"War-Rock! Stop! You're being ridiculous!!" "Who are you calling ridiculous?!", War-Rock yelled, feeling hurt. "That little punk just called me a demon!! I am _so_ gonna whack him!!"

"Little…_punk_?", the boy reiterated darkly. "You dead little…"

The butler apparently named Sebastian had a surprised, and slightly – ever so slightly, one couldn't be sure – look of "Oh, _no_." written on his face, and held him back as best as he could..

Sebastian and Subaru were both trying hard to keep the boy and War-Rock from totally killing each other. Cygnus, Juro and Wolf looked like they were going to get heart attacks from laughing so hard.

Suddenly the door slid open. It revealed Shidou, Ichigo and Tsuna with _serious_ "WTF" faces written all over them.

"WHAT THE _HELL_ ARE YOU DOING?!?", Shidou yelled, catching everyone off guard.

"He started it.", the boy and War-Rock pouted.

Shidou walked to beside the boy's bed. "So, you're awake, huh? What's your name?"

"What do you mean what's my name? And while I'm at it, what is this place? This isn't England at all. I was just on a phone call with Her Majesty. …And… what's with those strange clothes…?", the boy trailed, his eye slowly shrinking. He grabbed Shidou unexpectedly by the collar. "You! Where am I and what year is this??!"

"This is Japan. In the year 22XX."

-

It was kind peaceful outside of WAZA. Many birds were perched on the rooftops. Until…

"_**!?!?!?!**_"

The birds instantly flew away as the ground began shaking.

-

The boy looked absolutely shaken up. He was panting hard. Everyone else, minus the butler Sebastian, was covering their ears in severe pain or in shocked arm poses whilst standing on one leg.

"That… was painful.", Misora complained.

"What?! The year… 22XX?! No way! You mean to tell me I've been thrust _400_ years into the future of another country?!", he yelled.

Shidou nodded weakly twice, his eyes bugging out. Today was _truly_ not his day.

"……I need some time to think. You wouldn't by chance have herbal tea, would you?"

"Excuse me?", Shidou asked. Acid left the room. "I'll check."

"Herbal tea has always been how Boucha (Lit. _Young Master_) calms down. Quite frankly, this is also quite the surprise.", Sebastian stated calmly.

"You're oddly calm for learning about being 400 years in the future. What's your secret?", Wolf asked.

'_Ugh. A talking __**dog**_.', Sebastian thought to himself. "Well, if you must know…", he began. Everyone, save Ciel, leaned in slightly.

Sebastian revealed a slight, but devious smile. "_Aku made… shitsuji desu kara_. (Lit. [_Because_] _I am one hell of a butler_.)"

Subaru walked to the boy with a large, welcoming smile. "I'm Subaru Hoshikawa. It's nice to meet you, uh…", he said as his outstretched his hand.

The boy, to Sebastian's surprise, shook Subaru's hand back. "Earl of England, Ciel Phantomhive."

"Wait a minute,… Phantomhive? Where have I heard that name before…?" Misora started, placing a finger on her chin.

"It's a popular toy and sweets company from 19th Century Creamland. Back then it was named 'England', hence the different name.", Acid stated as he came floating in his a tray holding a teapot and two porcelain glasses and a small amount of packaged sugar.

"It's Earl Grey; I hope it doesn't offend." "No, Earl Grey is a personal favorite. I knew the man from my late father, actually. I never met him in person, but he has good taste.", Ciel stated as he Sebastian slowly took the tray from the white Wizard and poured Ciel a cup. He slowly sipped the glass and smirked slightly.

"I see that the tea of the future hasn't lost its luster. Although… it's a tad bland…" "It's not the best we have, unfortunately; our newest shipment of food came late."

Ciel's expression showed that of annoyance, which then subsided. "I take it that from what you said, England changed its name to this 'Creamland'?"

"It would seem so, Boucha.", Sebastian said coolly.

"So… what are you going to do with me?" "That's not for me to decide; that would be the Chief's job… how old are you, anyway?"

"…I just turned 13.", Ciel stated. "Wow! He's older than us!" Misora exasperated to Subaru and Luna. "_Older_ than you? And you're all that tall?"

"Speaking of…", Shidou began. "_They_ should be arriving soon…"

Warrock blinked. "'They'?"

-

Two WAZA guards and Wizards were standing outside the entrance to the mountain-enclosed LevBus tunnel. One guard was staring at his watch. "Hmmm, the next LevBus should be here right about…"

A ringing noise was heard. "Now." "How do you always _do_ that?", The other guard inquired. "Just good at it, I guess."

Suddenly a loud. "YO-SHAAAAAAAAAA!! We're finally here!" was heard, as the doors slid open. As the guards and Wizards covered their ears, a mid-sized young man with spiked orange wheat-bundle/bush-shaped hair jumped out of the doorway and began stretching dramatically.

His hair was bound by a dark blue-green headband with two large rings on the right side. He was wearing a bright-orange shirt under a brow leather vest, wearing twin tattered clothes and wrist-belts on both arms.

His eyes were purple, and had symmetrical yellow markings on his face consisting of a jagged line and isosceles triangle under both eyes, and a large yellow "M" and dot on its right side were on his forehead.

After him coming out, a tall spiky-haired blonde man with side braids wearing a spike-padded white trench coat and arm/leg leather patting, and a upside "A" necklace and giant silver "A" earrings stepped out, looking very annoyed.

"Damn it, Crow, could you _not_ yell so enthusiastically about arriving to a suspicious location EVERY time??", he asked gruffly and irritably.

"Aw, c'mon, Jack! Don't be so uptight! After all…!" , he started as he rose his arms dramatically, catching 'Jack' and the guards off guard. "This is freaking WAZA! The future of technology is basically here!"

"I had no clue you were such a techie, Crow.", came a voice from inside the LevBus. Out came a mid-tall, rather sexy 16-year old young woman with auburn-red hair in a mop of spiky ends in the back, and two incredibly long braids of thick hair. She was wearing a strange mix between a blouse, a drape-in-the-back ruffled dress, and a female military uniform in shades of cherry- brown and a faded blue-green dress shirt. She had a rather attention-grabbing figure, complete with slim body and rather large… funbags. Her cat-like eyes were a reddish-brown.

"Well, not really. But still, at least I know when to appreciate something, _Jack_." "And what is _that _supposed to mean, _Crow_?!", the man named Jack yelled back, pumping his fists.

"Guys, knock it off!", came a shrill boy's voice. All three turned to see a pair of turquoise-green-haired twins; a boy and a girl. The boy's hair was in one large braid behind his head, and the girl's was in two pigtails in front of her face. The boy was wearing a blue shirt with a yellow hexagonal block pattern and a light blue sleeveless shirt on top of it and blue shorts. He wore two identical bracelets on his wrists. The girl had a similar theme, only in pinks and a long sleeve red shirt under her pink outer shirt.

"You've arguing the entire time on the train! Can't you just go five minutes without aqrguing like a married couple?"

"What was that, you shrimp-boat?!", Jack yelled, his voice catching the four guards and Wizards by surprise.

"Enough!", came another voice from inside the LevBus.

Out came an 18-year old male with black hair and orange-cream highlights in spiked bangs jutting in every cardinal direction. His gear consisted of a black T-shirt with a red design under a blue jacket covered in intricate black-rimmed material and orange bubbles on his shoulders, elbows and shins. His forearms and forelegs were clothed in long gloves and boots rimmed with the same metal-like material that almost reached to their respective joints. He had a Hebrew letter "Lamed"-like mark and a triangle pointing left under his left eye. His eyes were a cold, but inviting blue.

"For goodness' sake Jack, you _have_ been acting like a nagging mother the entire ride.. "And what is _that_ supposed to mean, Yusei?!?"

Yusei winced slightly at Jack's scream. "Is this because we couldn't fit the D-Wheels into the train? You didn't actually believe that this place would allow _motorcycles_ on such a cramped train, did you?"

"Hmph! Like I'd let some shady policemen with horrible fashion sense handle _my _Wheel of Fortune!"

"Uhhhh…", one guard began. "Is your group the one sent from Sector Security from Neo Domino by any chance…?"

"Yes. We're here on business. I take it your superior is waiting…? ...What happened here? Was there some sort of fight?"

"The guards gulped. "Actually, there was. Some nutjob kid who claimed to know one of our top operatives attacked and critically injured some of our fighters. Luckily no one was really hurt thanks to Rockman and some new strangers, but…"

"Wait-wait-wait! You mean as in _the_ Rockman?! As in the three-time hero Rockman?!", the boy started excitedly. "Oh my God, he's here?!"

"Rua, calm down!" The girl scolded her brother. "People were seriously hurt, and all you can think about is meeting a celebrity??"

"Aw, c'mon Ruka, aren't _you_ the least bit eager to meet him?? I hear he's really our age!"

"Well, yes, I'm eager, but that doesn't—"

"THEN IT'S SETTLED!", Crow yelled. "Let's go see ourselves a celebrity!"

The three, with Rua dragging Ruka, ran off to the WAZA entrance.

"…Kids today.", Jack and Yusei muttered at the same time, before walking towards the entrance.

-

Shidou's Hunter-VG went off. "Ace, we just received word that the group from Neo Domino City has arrived. Also, could you send Subaru-kun down? The two children in their group are apparently dying to see him…"

"Is Rockman on the other side?! Holy crap! HIIIII!!" "_Ruuuuaaaaaa_!"

"Uuuuuuuhhh…", Subaru said surprised.

"Is it—is it true you're part alien?!" Rua, get down from there!! That's not safe!" "Aw, c'mon Ruka! Don't be such a party pooper!" "Rua, get down!!" "You're no fun, Yusei!" "_Ruaaaa_!!" "Okay, okay! _Taku…_"

"Oooookay…", WarRock and Subaru said flatly.

"Who is this Rockman you speak of?", Ciel questioned. "Oh. Me and War-Rock, my Wizard can merge to become a hero named Rockman. That's all."

'A _hero_? Bah!' Ciel thought. "I see… I take it these floating animals are all 'Wizards'…?" "Actually, all of us except Vogue and Acid are aliens from another world!", Warrock bragged. "But we're also called Wizards now, so… yeah."

"…Aliens?", Ciel cocked his eye, slowly getting out of his bed. "You have got to be pulling my leg."

"I believe you.", came a voice from the door later revealed to be Ichigo, with Tsuna and Reborn next to him. "After most of the weird stuff I deal with on a daily basis, it's not surprising."

"Same here, unfortunately." Tsuna sighed. "Ahem." Reborn huffed dangerously. Tsuna looked freaked.

"What, are you saying you deal with weird stuff?" "If you call being heir to a Mafia weird, then _most_ _definitely_ yes." "There's nothing wrong with being a member of the Vongola Family you know; you should be proud." Reborn said with a his trademark smirk.

"Being the boss of a Mafia I want no interaction with is not exactly what I'd call a dream job." "If Gokudera heard you say that, he'd have a heart attack." "THAT'S NOT EVEN REMOTELY FUNNY!"

"Whoa-whoa-whoa, are you saying you're really the boss of a real Italian Mafia??", Subaru asked, his eyes lit with excitement. "That's so cool!" "Really?", Tsuna asked back, surprised.

"They all look pretty strong; how about making them members of you Family, Tsuna?", Reborn asked.

"N-No!! I just met them! How are you so calmly considering adding them to the Family just like that?!"

"So does your position as boss come with anything cool?", Subaru asked. "Uh, well… this, I guess.", he stated as he showed the group his Vongola Sky Ring – the proof of the Vongola Boss.

"It pretty!", Luna and Misora squeled. "So it's a ring. Big deal." "Big deal? Why you little…", Reborn started.

"Actually this ring can do something really cool.", Tsuna said as his right index knuckle captivated everyone in the room as a small orange flame danced on the surface of the ring. "And… Open Box!"

He took out a fairly small orange jewel-studded metal-looking box and plunged the flaming ring into the hole on the center of the jewel-studded side. He then pointed the box away from him and a large mass of orange flame shot out of the box. The flame solidified into a small bright-orange-mixed-lemon furred lion cub with a shining metallic visor with symmetrical indents and a large charcoal-brimmed blue jewel on its forehead with a mane and tail end made of dancing soft orange flames.

Upon fully forming, it opened its beautiful, big orange eyes and let out a strong "GAAAAAAOOOOO~~" noise and nuzzled its master's leg.

Tsuna smiled gingerly and picked up the lion cub nuzzled its face with his fingers, who cooed back. "You guys, meet my Box Weapon; the Leone di Ciele Version Vongola. I call him Nuts." "Gaoo~!"

"IT'S SO CUUUUUUUTE~~!!" Luna, Misora, Harp, Vogue and surprisingly an interested Sebastian who instead screaming had an enlightened smile, squealed and ran up the lion cub, coddling his cheeks with two fingers (or in Harp's and Vogue's case… actually just use your imagination.) each. Nuts blushed slightly.

"He looks so adorable! I could just eat him up!", Luna squeaked. "And his mane is so soft~! It's like Egyptian cotton!" Misora mused. "I know!", Harps and Vogue said at the same time.

"The vibrant yellow fur, the dancing orange mane like a small soft fire. Those big, innocent orange eyes like glistening jewels. That playful, inviting catlike smile. You may not be a black kitten, but you most certainly adorable." "Gaooo~"

War-Rock snaked his way to the cuddled cub. "Aw, it ain't so great. What does this thing have that I don't?", he puffed.

Nuts' ears drooped and dug his face back into his master's arms, letting loose a soft moan.

"Gaoooooo…" "What? Was it something I said?", War-Rock huffed. "Nuts is a total scaredy-cat outside of a battle. Just like No-Good-Tsuna here. They're basically one in the same." "R-Reborn!", Tsuna yelped defensively.

"Waitaminute, battle?! As in fighting?!", War-Rock asked excitedly. "Well, sometimes I fight, but-" "Subaru, did you hear that?? He's a fighter! We _so_ gotta fight him!! We just gotta!!", War-Rock exclaimed excitingly.

Tsuna and Subaru had the exact same exasperated face. '_That waisn't what I/he meant!!_'

Shidou laughed. "But I digress; Subaru we got some visitors – best to not keep them waiting." "I hear they're from Neo Domino City; they're pretty big on that one card game. Duel Monsters I think it was called.", Juro spoke.

"Yeah; I noticed that they were all wearing custom Duel Disks.", Subaru stated. "Duel… _what_?", Sebastian asked. "It's a bulky device someone puts on their opposite wrist in order to play the game using playing cards highly-advanced holograms – fixtures of light that create solid images which is dubbed 'Solid Vision' by players of the game, named Duelists."

"… I see.", the tall butler replied flatly. Ciel and War-Rock were rubbing their temples in pure frustration.

-

5 minutes later…

-

Rua and Crow were closely inspecting Subaru with highly concentrating faces, who was looking slightly taken aback. Then they looked closely at War-Rock, who was sporting a rather annoyed taken-aback looked. Then back to Subaru. Then at each other. And finally they squealed in joy.

"It _is_ him!" "Ya think?", Ruka sighed.

After that, everyone started introducing themselves to each other.

The Neo Domino group was amazed by WAZA's technology and by the Wizards, especially Yusei, who if not for his calm composure, would look like an excited kid in a candy store.

Aki and Ruka were commenting on how cute Harp, Vogue, War-Rock and Wolf looked, the latter two of which were blushing slightly.

Ichigo and Tsuna were conversing with Ciel and Sebastain about Japan and today's wacky time period.

Shidou and Acid were standing at one of the security camera screens, re-watching the battle with Fubuki.

"Fubuki… what happened to you?" "Shidou…", Acid started worryingly.

Utagai asked, with Cygnus behind him.

"…", Shidou replied, his upper face shaded by his hair. "… I see."

Suddenly the alarm went off.

ALERT! ALERT! SECURITY BREACH! SECURITY BREACH! UNIDENTIFED ENERGY SIGNATURE! UNIDENTIFIDED ENERGY SIGNATURE!

"Oh no!", Shidou began typing explicitly fast on the keyboard to bring up the video feed.

Everyone gathered at the screen to see a lone young man in the middle of the 'courtyard'.

"Is it Fubuki?", Subaru asked concerned. "…No. It's someone else.", Sidou said bitterly.

Upon inspection of the intruder, the figure was approximately as tall as Fubuki. He had flowing curly dirty blonde hair with endless locks and spilt ends in hundreds of directions. He wore a blue and dark blue wave-patterned kimono with his chest revealed, showing a fairly strong chest build. He wore tan sandals and white socks with his right upper leg partially wrapped in a white bandage.

His left eye was blocked from view via a large, thick double-stringed eyepatch with a strange red circular array printed on it. He had a dark-purple mark under his left eye shaped like Yusei's mark, only thicker and without the triangle.

He opened his right eye, which magnified to reveal a metallic dark blue color.

He also appeared to have a strange metallic device on his left arm. Upon closer inspection, Yusei exclaimed "That's a Duel Disk!"

Subaru, Misora, Juro, Utagai and Shidou performed Denpa-Henkan and rushed outside with everyone else.

The Denpa-Henkaners had their weapons ready, while everyone got into a fighting stance, with Sebastian standing in front of Ciel, Ichigo assuming his Shinigami form and, Reborn cocking his gun and Tsuna entering his fighting form, revealing to be called his Dying Will form.

The young man suddenly began to speak. "I knew you'd come out. That's how you people work."

"State your business!", Shidou, as Acid Ace, yelled. The young man noticed that several guards and Wizards were surround the group on each side.

"If you don't tell your men and women to stand down, I'll be forced to show my hand." At that point a small, but noticeable orange aura came from his right hand.

"That's a Dying Will Flame.", Reborn noted. "Not good – it's orange; he's a Sky type!", Tsuna said bitterly.

"If I don't get what I desire, I will be forced to detonate the bombs inside your establishment; the blood will be on your hands."

"Bombs?! What bombs?!", Shidou yelled dangerously. "The bombs my associate planted not too long ago."

"Fubuki…", Shidou whispered. The young man chuckled. "Not quite."

"Who else could you be…… !!!", Acid Ace began as he came to a realization.

"That's right. Kenta Yagi and Hasami Chiyokichi have unwittingly become my associate's Reigan Bakudan (Lit. _Spiritual Explosives_). If you are the ones to try anything, I'll set them off. End of story. Now lower your weapons.", he concluded darkly.

Everyone was hesitant at first, but realized they had no choice but to comply.

"Good. Now I have a request.", he began as he flexed his left wrist. The Duel Disk on his forearm activated and expanded to activate.

"You shall Duel me, Yusei Fudo, Signer of the Dragon Head. Win, and the bombs are deactivated, and I'll tell you something you may want to know. Lose… and I don't think you want to consider the consequences."

"So you're staking this whole thing on a card game! Screw that!", Ichigo yelled as he pulled his Zanpakuto, Zangetsu to his side.

"No!", Yusei said putting his arm in front of the group behind him. "It's the only given way we can work with."

"Yusei…", Aki said. Jack and Crow grit their teeth, but nodded. Rua and Ruka looked concerned, but accepted the reality of the situation.

Yusie squirmed past Rockman and Harp Note, and readied his Duel Disk. "If I win this, you will promise to uphold your end of the bargain. Got it?"

The man smiled. "I swear by my title as the Acrobaleno Oscuro of the Sky." Reborn's hat covered his eyes slightly. "Acrobaleno _Oscuro_?"

The young man smirked slightly and Yusei grit his teeth.

"_**DUEL!!**_" (Yusei: 4000 Life Points Mystery Boy: 4000 Life Points)

-

NEXT TIME: Battlin' On Sky's Doorstep


	4. Battlin' On Sky's Doorstep

(Note: In my chapters, I will be using the Japanese names of the cards, and will write what the English ones are at the end. Thank you)

PREVIOUSLY…

-

_ALERT! ALERT! SECURITY BREACH! SECURITY BREACH! UNIDENTIFED ENERGY SIGNATURE! UNIDENTIFIDED ENERGY SIGNATURE!_

"_Oh no!", Shidou began typing explicitly fast on the keyboard to bring up the video feed._

_Everyone gathered at the screen to see a lone young man in the middle of the 'courtyard'._

"_Is it Fubuki?", Subaru asked concerned. "…No. It's someone else.", Sidou said bitterly._

_Upon inspection of the intruder, the figure was approximately as tall as Fubuki. He had flowing curly dirty blonde hair with endless locks and spilt ends in hundreds of directions. He wore a blue and dark blue wave-patterned kimono with his chest revealed, showing a fairly strong chest build. He wore tan sandals and white socks with his right upper leg partially wrapped in a white bandage._

_His left eye was blocked from view via a large, thick double-stringed eyepatch with a strange red circular array printed on it. He had a dark-purple mark under his left eye shaped like Yusei's mark, only thicker and without the triangle._

_He opened his right eye, which magnified to reveal a metallic dark blue color._

_He also appeared to have a strange metallic device on his left arm. Upon closer inspection, Yusei exclaimed "That's a Duel Disk!"_

_Subaru, Misora, Juro, Utagai and Shidou performed Denpa-Henkan and rushed outside with everyone else._

_The Denpa-Henkaners had their weapons ready, while everyone got into a fighting stance, with Sebastian standing in front of Ciel, Ichigo assuming his Shinigami form and, Reborn cocking his gun and Tsuna entering his fighting form, revealing to be called his Dying Will form._

_The young man suddenly began to speak. "I knew you'd come out. That's how you people work."_

"_State your business!", Shidou, as Acid Ace, yelled. The young man noticed that several guards and Wizards were surround the group on each side._

"_If you don't tell your men and women to stand down, I'll be forced to show my hand." At that point a small, but noticeable orange aura came from his right hand._

"_That's a Dying Will Flame.", Reborn noted. "Not good – it's orange; he's a Sky type!", Tsuna said bitterly._

"_If I don't get what I desire, I will be forced to detonate the bombs inside your establishment; the blood will be on your hands."_

"_Bombs?! What bombs?!", Shidou yelled dangerously. "The bombs my associate planted not too long ago."_

"_Fubuki…", Shidou whispered. The young man chuckled. "Not quite."_

"_Who else could you be…… !!!", Acid Ace began as he came to a realization._

"_That's right. Kenta Yagi and Hasami Chiyokichi have unwittingly become my associate's Reigan Bakudan (Lit. Spiritual Explosives). If you are the ones to try anything, I'll set them off. End of story. Now lower your weapons.", he concluded darkly._

_Everyone was hesitant at first, but realized they had no choice but to comply._

"_Good. Now I have a request.", he began as he flexed his left wrist. The Duel Disk on his forearm activated and expanded to activate._

"_You shall Duel me, Yusei Fudo, Signer of the Dragon Head. Win, and the bombs are deactivated, and I'll tell you something you may want to know. Lose… and I don't think you want to consider the consequences."_

"_So you're staking this whole thing on a card game! Screw that!", Ichigo yelled as he pulled his Zanpakuto, Zangetsu to his side._

"_No!", Yusei said putting his arm in front of the group behind him. "It's the only given way we can work with."_

"_Yusei…", Aki said. Jack and Crow grit their teeth, but nodded. Rua and Ruka looked concerned, but accepted the reality of the situation._

_Yusie squirmed past Rockman and Harp Note, and readied his Duel Disk. "If I win this, you will promise to uphold your end of the bargain. Got it?"_

_The man smiled. "I swear by my title as the Acrobaleno Oscuro of the Sky." Reborn's hat covered his eyes slightly. "Acrobaleno Oscuro?"_

_The young man smirked slightly and Yusei grit his teeth._

"_**DUEL!!**__" (Yusei: 4000 Life Points Mystery Boy: 4000 Life Points)_

-

Chapter 4: Battlin On Sky's Doorstep

-

"What's going on?", Ciel barked. "Don't tell me they're _actually_ participating in a _game_! Isn't this guy a terrorist?!"

"Bouchan…", Sebastian whispered. "Technically, yes, but if this guy has a bomb we cannot get to in time, our hands are tied.", Shidou as Acid Ace said solemnly. "Our best bet is for Yusei to win this fight… I don't even know how to play Duel Monsters; could one of you guys fill us in…?", he asked looking at Jack, Aki, Crow, Rua and Ruka.

Jack smirked. "Finally. Prepare yourself for the learning of a lifetime from the one and only Jack Atla--" "JACK! Shut up and say it already!", Crow barked.

"Ugh. _I'll_ do it." Aki sighed. "Duel Monsters starts out when both players have 4000 Life Points, and 5 cards in their hands; they draw 1 card at the beginning of their turn. There are three kinds of cards; Monsters, Magic (aka Spells in non-Japan countries) and Trap cards. The point of the game is to drop the opponent Life Points to 0, have them have draw cards when there are no cards left in their deck, or through a special condition."

"I see…", Sebastian said coolly while placing a hand in his chin. "What of battle?"

It was Rua's turn to speak. "Battle works when you have one monster pit against one of your opponent's monsters during the 'Battle Phase'. But before that, there's monster summoning. You can only Normal Summon, which is from your hand, once per turn. Level 4 or lower monsters can be brought out right off the bat, but Level 5 or higher monsters need Releases, or sacrifices. Special Summons, on the other hand, are infinite during a turn. OH! There' also Synchro Summoning!"

"Synchro Summoning?", Wolf Forest asked. The mysterious boy facing Yusei cringed at hearing those words a bit.

"When you take a specific kind of monster called a Tuner, and combine it with other monsters on the field that _aren't_ Tuners, you can Synchro Summon a monster whose Level is equal to the Levels of the combined monsters. Like simple addition.", Ruka concluded.

"Oh, I get it!", Misora chirped happily.

"I also kinda know how to play, so if anyone still doesn't get it, I _could_ help.", Subaru as Rockman stated meekly, almost slightly embarrassed, rubbing his chin with one finger.

Everyone tensed slightly as the duel finally started.

"You may go first." Yusei said, cautiously, his eyes glaring slightly. "Why, thank you.", the young man replied politely. It confused the group.

"My turn… Draw!" At this point, he had 6 cards in his hand. He smiled. "I summon Meltiel, Sage of the Sky in Attack Mode." At this point, a majestic looking metallic angel with a crystalline body of red, orange, yellow and light-almost-pale-blue armor with white feathered wings and under body, in which it had no legs, appeared majestically with its arms outstretched. (ATK: 1600 DEF: 1200, Level 4) "Next I shall set 2 cards face-down. That ends my turn", he smiled.

'_Hpw can he be smiling…? What's more…_', Yusei began thinking to himself. '_That thing's a Counter Fairy; and if my thinking is correct… he must have a Counter Trap set! I need to be very careful…'. _He readied his hand to his Duel Disk. "My turn! Draw!". He smiled . "By discarding a Monster Card from my hand, I can Special Summon Quick Synchron from my hand, in Attack Mode!"

As soon as he slid a monster called Bolt Hedgehog into his Graveyard, a white-rimmed blue portal of light appeared as a small mechanical cowboy themed machine with one large blue eye, a cowboy hat, cloak and revolver appeared. (ATK: 700 DEF: 1400, Level 5)

"Also, when a Tuner is on my field (Quick Synchron), Bolt Hedgehog is brought back from the Graveyard, and is removed from play when he leaves the field!"

A small tan hedgehog with green beady eyes, buck teeth and several nuts and bolts jutting out of its back appeared.

"Thanks to Quick Synchron's ability, it's treated as another Synchron Tuner monster for a Synchro Summon!", Yusei continued.

Quick Synchron quickly whipped out his gun as six different card holograms appeared and spun rapidly in a circle. He shot one, which was and red fire extinguisher-looking monster named Nitro Sychron (ATK: 300 DEF: 100, Level 3)

"I subject my level Level 5 Quick Synchron and my Level 2 Bolt Hedgehog to Tuning!"

Quick Synchron erupted into five light-green glowing rings and surround a flying Bolt Hedgehog; its body becoming colorless and transparent, it's outlines turning a glowing yellow.

"Clustering minds will become a greater force! Become the path its light shines upon!" At this point, the light combination erupted as a green and black mechanical and rock-like demon figure appeared its gorilla-like arms outstretched. It had pale metallic-yellow horns on both sides of his head like a bull, and a metallic green jet engine attached to his… rear. Yeah…

"Synchro Summon!! Blaze on, Nirto Warrior!" Upon finishing the statement, this light shattered and Nitro Warriro summon was complete, roaring as it was so. (ATK: 2800 DEF: 1800, Level 7)

The young man smiled maliciously. "You fool! You trigged my Trap card! Counter Trap; Black Horn of Heaven!"

Revealing his face-down card, a black demonic-looking angel horn sounded. The noise was so much that that everyone was covering their ears; Wolf Forest, Rua and Ruka were talking it especially bad.

Nitro Warrior yelled and exploded into triangular pixels of yellow light, signifying its destruction.

The young man smirked. "Black Horn of Heaven negates the Special Summon of 1 monster, and destroys it. But you should know that that's not all that going to happen."

"Meltiel's effect…" Jack concluded.

"It's effect…?", Ichigo, Tsuna, Cygnus Wing and Acid Ace inquired. As if on cue, the young man's body was incased in a brief white aura, as his Life Points increased by 1000. (Life Points: 4000 -- 5000)

"Meltiel's effect allots its owner 1000 Life Points every time a Counter Trap Card is successfully activated. Also, if the the Field Spell called Sanctuary in the Sky were on the field, one card on Yusei's field would be instantly destroyed…", Aki concluded.

"Well, the Sanctuary's no on the field, so… that's good, I guess.", Luna stammered.

Yusei cursed under his breath. "I activate the Quick-Play Spell card Synchron Shift! Whenever a a Synchro monster with the word 'Synchron' in the used Tuner's name is destroyed and sent to my Graveyard, I can Special Summon Level 4 or less Synchron Tuner monster from my Deck! Come forth, Road Synchron!"

In a burst of light a yellow and white robot with orange eyes and large rod-shaped wheels for legs appeared clenching its fists. (ATK 1600 DEF: 800, Level 4)

"Trap Card open! Sacred Light – Level 4! (This is an original card by me)", the young man exclaimed. At that time light erupted upwards from the card towards the sky.

"When my opponent Special Summons a monster by the effect of a Magic or Trap card, I may Special Summon 1 LIGHT Fairy monster from my hand with the same Level as the summoned monster, and my opponent draws a card! Since Road Synchron is a Level 4, I can call forth Bountiful Artemis in Defense Mode!"

A majestic mechanical angel with white porcelain-like material and millions of blue crystals in a sheet-like pattern around its body, bony crystal and porcelain arms and a sharp crystal point for a lower body appered with a flowing purple and gold cape and wings. After that, its body turned blue as is shielded itself. (ATK: 1600 DEF: 1700, Level 4)

The young man smirked. "Also, if there are no monsters in my Graveyard when this card is successfully activated, I can select 1 Counter Trap from my Deck and Set it to my field. Of course, it cannot be used this turn. I'll think I'll choose…", he started as he placed his hand to his Duel Disk as a card partially spat out of his Deck and pulled it into his hand. The Deck then shuffled itself via the mechanism in his Duel Disk. He then revealed his card. Yusei winced.

"…God's Declaration (aka 'Solemn Judgment' in non-Japan countries). And like I said, it cannot be used this turn. But you are not safe by a long shot, Yusei Fudo." He then set the card face-down in a Magic/Tarp Zone on his Duel Disk.

"Yusei's in a pickle now.", Jack grunted. "How so?", Warrock and Ciel asked. "Meltiel gives its owner two automatic effects when a Counter Trap is played; 1000 Life Points off the bat, and one of Yusei's cards'll be destroyed when the Sanctuarty's out.", Crow stated before thinking. '_Plus, it technically can get around Stardust Dragon's effect to protect Yusei's cards… That's a major problem – Yusei needs to get rid of it fast, but with that God's Declaration out and about…_'

"And thanks to Bountiful Artemis, whenever a Counter Trap is played, that kid gets to draw a card free of charge – both cards work whenever _either_ player plays a Counter Trap, and Yusei has a few…", Aki concluded, biting her lip.

"This is most certainly a turn for the worst…", Sebastian stated coolly.

Yusei began to formulate a plan in his hand. '_Let's see here, I have Panic Wave, Tuner's Barrier, Junk Wall _(original card)_, and One For One… I __**could**__ ditch Junk Wall with One For One for either Tuning Supporter _(aka Tuningware), _Stardust Xialong or Level Stealer _(Level Eater)_… but thatlls only boost my defense for a turn. Plus he can suicide one of his Fairies to take out my Road Synchron, and leave my field empty. That is, if I didn't have my Tuner's Barrier and Panic Wave. But then, there's God's Declaration… This guy's got me in a tight spot… In that case, I'll keep him guessing for if he gets Sanctuary in the Sky out!_" He grabbed Panic Wave, Tuner's Barrier and One for One from his hand. "I set three cards facedown. End of turn."

"I thought so. My turn.", the young man retorted. H extracted the top card of his Deck and smiled. "Excellent. Judgment is at hand.", he said before placing it in his hand. " First I summon Harvest Angel of Wisdom in Attack Mode!"

In a burst of light, a tall, slender tangerine and sea-green armored creature with a strange mask and semi-flowing dirty-blond hair appeared.. It had angel wings growing out of the outer sides of its lower legs – almost at its ankles – brimmed by curved armor sheltering 9 long bladed feathers on both legs.

It had a strange winged horn in its left hand, which it played upon being summoned. (ATK: 1800 DEF: 1000, Level 4)

"Harvest Angel of Wisdom, attack his Road Synchron! Heaven's Horn!!" Upon his command, the Harvest Angel blew into his horn and a large blast of sound came crahing towards Road Synchron at rocket speed.

"Trap card open! Tuner's Barrier! For one turn, a Tuner on my field is not destroyed by battle or by card effects! Therefore, I'll select--"

"Judgment has come! Counter Trap! God's Declaration! At the cost of half of my Life Points, 1 Magic or Trap card's effect, or a monster's summon is negated, and instantly destroyed!" (Life Points: 5000 -- 2500)

Yellow and white lightning erupted from the card and struck Tuner's Barrier, destroying it instantly. Yusei cursed as the Harvest Angel's attack pierced through his Road Synchron like a hot knife through butter, dropping his Life Points, and possibly his chances of victory, by a precious 200 Life Points. (Life Points: 4000 -- 3800)

Then the young man started chuckling. The chuckling soon became dark laughter. "It's time for judgment to _truly_ begin! Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!"

"Judgement?", Yusei inquired defensively. The spectators, also having overheard this, didn't like the sound of that.

"When a Counter Trap have been successfully activated, both Meltiel's and Artemis' effect activate and strengthen me even more!" "I don't think so! Trap Card open! Panic Wave! By destroying one set Magic or Tap card on my field…", he began as One for One was destroyed. "… All card's on your field have their effects negated, and your monsters cannot attack this turn!"

"Oh, well.. that wasn't what I had in mind, but you fail to see what I _really_ planned for!" "What are you…… -gasp-!!! Oh no!", Yusei began.

"He _couldn't_ mean…!", Aki began fearfully. "Couldn't mean what…?", Reborn and Ciel asked warily. "I'm afraid we're about find out…", Sebastian stated coolly, yet warily.

The young man laughed again. "You are… correct." Yusei's eyes glared. '_I knew it!!_'

"When a Counter Trap is successfully activated, at the cost of Releasing ever single monster I control, the judge of heaven can be called forth!!" "Crap!", Yusei said out loud. Everyone braced themselves as a strong wind began blowing, circling the field. Aki and Luna was desperately trying to keep their blouses down to prevent any panty shots. Some of the WAZA guards were starting to lose their footing.

"What's… coming?!", Shidou as Acid Ace found himself asking out loud.

"I sacrifice all 3 of my Counter Fairies to summon my ultimate weapon!!", he stated as he rose his arms while Meltiel, Artemis and the Harvest Angel were consumed by rainbow light which floated fast towards the sky, as the clouds on the field began to darken.

"O great discipliner of the gods, I beseech thy almighty presence! Cast upon my enemies the sacred light of divine judgment!" The clouds began to release bolt of dark yellow lightning. Misora, Luna, Aki, Ruka and surprisingly Tsuna screamed from the strong lightning.

"I Special Summon the Bringer of Judgment – Voltanis!! (Voltanis the Adjudicator in non-Japan countries)"

The lighting conglomerated and merged in one lightning bolt that struck the ground. As it died down, a great large angel covered in a purple and blue-lined armor and mountain of crystals for a lower body appeared. Its arms were of the same armored material with silver-blue rings clamping at the shoulder and elbow joints. Two identical metal wing-like structures protruded from the base of the crystal and stood like walls rather than on its back Its head was dwarfed a cross-meets-flower-shaped hood. Its head was a featureless simple human-head shaped mass with blue marks shaped like a widely opened symmetrical eye, with a blue dot on the center of its face.

It held a large bladed and bejeweled staff as tall as itself. Speking of how tall it was, it was tall enough to force everyone to look about 60 to 75 degrees to see its face – it was probably a handful of stories tall. (ATK: 2800 DEF: 1400, Level 8)

"His effect: for every Fairy-Type monster Released for its Special Summon, 1 card on your side of the field is instantly destroyed! Heaven's Judgment!" As it rose its staff, a stray bolt of lightning struck the hologram of One for One, frying it to a crisp instantly. Yusei cursed.

"Bringer of Justice – Voltanis! Strike down Yusei Fudo! Holy Impalement!" As if on command, Voltanis rose its staffed and point its end at Yusei, thrusting at incredible speed.

"Yusei!", Jack and Crow yelled. "Yusei!!", Aki, Ruka and Rua yelled. Everyone else just gasped save for Reborn and Sebastian.

The rod was inching closer to Yusei, him about to take a major hit to his Life Points. The scene froze.

-

Next Time: Two Kinds of Resolve


	5. Two Kinds of Resolve

PREVIOUSLY…

_-_

_Yellow and white lightning erupted from the card and struck Tuner's Barrier, destroying it instantly. Yusei cursed as the Harvest Angel's attack pierced through his Road Synchron like a hot knife through butter, dropping his Life Points, and possibly his chances of victory, by a precious 200 Life Points. (Life Points: 4000 -- 3800)_

_Then the young man started chuckling. The chuckling soon became dark laughter. "It's time for judgment to truly begin! Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!"_

"_Judgment?", Yusei inquired defensively. The spectators, also having overheard this, didn't like the sound of that._

"_When a Counter Trap have been successfully activated, both Meltiel's and Artemis' effect activate and strengthen me even more!" "I don't think so! Trap Card open! Panic Wave! By destroying one set Magic or Trap card on my field…", he began as One for One was destroyed. "… All card's on your field have their effects negated, and your monsters cannot attack this turn!"_

"_Oh, well... that wasn't what I had in mind, but you fail to see what I really planned for!" "What are you…… -gasp-!!! Oh no!", Yusei began._

"_He couldn't mean…!", Aki began fearfully. "Couldn't mean what…?", Reborn and Ciel asked warily. "I'm afraid we're about find out…", Sebastian stated coolly, yet warily._

_The young man laughed again. "You are… correct." Yusei's eyes glared. 'I knew it!!'_

"_When a Counter Trap is successfully activated, at the cost of Releasing ever single monster I control, the judge of heaven can be called forth!!" "Crap!", Yusei said out loud. Everyone braced themselves as a strong wind began blowing, circling the field. Aki and Luna was desperately trying to keep their blouses down to prevent any panty shots. Some of the WAZA guards were starting to lose their footing._

"_What's… coming?!", Shidou as Acid Ace found himself asking out loud._

"_I sacrifice all 3 of my Counter Fairies to summon my ultimate weapon!!", he stated as he rose his arms while Meltiel, Artemis and the Harvest Angel were consumed by rainbow light which floated fast towards the sky, as the clouds on the field began to darken._

"_O great discipliner of the gods, I beseech thy almighty presence! Cast upon my enemies the sacred light of divine judgment!" The clouds began to release bolt of dark yellow lightning. Misora, Luna, Aki, Ruka and surprisingly Tsuna screamed from the strong lightning._

"_I Special Summon the Bringer of Judgment – Voltanis!!"_

_The lighting conglomerated and merged in one lightning bolt that struck the ground. As it died down, a great large angel covered in a purple and blue-lined armor and mountain of crystals for a lower body appeared. Its arms were of the same armored material with silver-blue rings clamping at the shoulder and elbow joints. Two identical metal wing-like structures protruded from the base of the crystal and stood like walls rather than on its back Its head was dwarfed a cross-meets-flower-shaped hood. Its head was a featureless simple human-head shaped mass with blue marks shaped like a widely opened symmetrical eye, with a blue dot on the center of its face._

_It held a large bladed and bejeweled staff as tall as itself. Speaking of how tall it was, it was tall enough to force everyone to look about 60 to 75 degrees to see its face – it was probably a handful of stories tall. (ATK: 2800 DEF: 1400, Level 8)_

"_His effect: for every Fairy-Type monster Released for its Special Summon, 1 card on your side of the field is instantly destroyed! Heaven's Judgment!" As it rose its staff, a stray bolt of lightning struck the hologram of One for One, frying it to a crisp instantly. Yusei cursed._

"_Bringer of Justice – Voltanis! Strike down Yusei Fudo! Holy Impalement!" As if on command, Voltanis rose its staffed and point its end at Yusei, thrusting at incredible speed._

"_Yusei!", Jack and Crow yelled. "Yusei!!", Aki, Ruka and Rua yelled. Everyone else just gasped save for Reborn and Sebastian._

_The rod was inching closer to Yusei, him about to take a major hit to his Life Points. The scene froze._

-

Chapter 5: Two Kinds of Resolve

-

"From my hand, Junk Wall's effect activates!", Yusei's voice boomed. A transparent wall of spaced-hollowed and battered debris materialized in front of Yusei and took the brunt of Voltanis's staff's strike. It then disappeared.

"When my opponent declares a direct attack, and my field is empty, I can discard Junk Wall to negate your attack, end the Battle Phase, and draw 1 card, and 1 extra card if it's the only card in my hand at the time of activation!" With that, Yusei drew two cards.

The young man opposing him grunted, his visible eye showing signs of disappointment. "I'll set 2 cards face-down and end my turn."

The spectators all sighed in relief, save Sebastian, who still to this minute looked very calm and collected.

"Looks like Yusei crawled out of _that_ hole…", Crow said relieved. "But there's still that 2800 ATK Bringer of Justice – Voltanis out. I don't trust it for a second.", Rua said irritably.

"He's got a long way to go bring that kid's Life Points to 0.", Wolf Forest grunted.

"You forget.", this voice coming from Ciel. "Thanks to the cost of that God's Declaration card, it apparently took half of his Life Points with it. Yusei may very well have a chance."

"What really worries me are those two face-down cards… I'm pretty sure those are some of those Counter Traps laying in wait…", Utagai as Cygnus Wing stammered nervously. "You could very well be right… he's only played one Magic card this entire Duel…", Ruka observed.

After saying that, something caught the corner of her eye; that being the Duel Spirit of Ancient Fairy Dragon's faithful servant, the armored, horned, yellow-eyed white lion, Regulus.

"…Regulus…!" Ruka whispered surprised. Only Rua and Aki noticed, thankfully – anyone else would think that Ruka was talking to herself otherwise.

"Be very careful, Ruka. That boy… I don't trust him one bit." "W-why, Regulus…?" "It's his eyes… er, eye. See his face?" "Yes…" "Look at it. He looks _too_ calm. He's definitely up to something really bad…"

True to the lion's words, the young man's face looked eerily calm and collected after Yusei just pulled a big save on his own skin. _Too_ calm in fact; he was actually smiling, albeit very small.

"My turn. Draw!", Yusei exclaimed as he pulled a card from the top of his Deck, making his hand size at 3. He then looked carefully at his hand.

Shield Wing, Starlight Road and Iron Resolve. '_This is a good hand. I can keep my defenses up with Shield Wing, who can't be destroyed in battle twice a turn, and Iron Resolve will reduce all Battle Damage from 1 attack to 0 at the cost of half my Life Points. Plus, if he tries to blow up 2 or more of my cards, Starlight Road will destroy the card used and let me call out Stardust Dragon without Synchro Summoning it! Question is… will his set cards have anything to say about it?_' Yusei took the cards in his hand and placed them in on his Duel Disk.

"I set 2 cards face-down, and summon Shield Wing in Defense Mode!" At that time a sea green skeletal bird-pterodactyl cross with skeletal inner wings covered by angelic feathers appeared, crouched and turned blue. (ATK: 0 DEF: 900, Level 2) "That ends my turn."

"Very well. My turn. Draw!", the young dirty blonde man shouted. Staring at his card, he smirked. I summon Calling Nova ("Nova Summoner" in non-Japan countries) in Attack Mode!" An orange crystal fairy shaped like a laurel wreath wrapped around with a blue ribbon with wings and a centered floating blue jewel appeared. (ATK: 1400 DEF: 800, Level 4)

"That ends my turn."

"I don't get; why didn't he attack?", Luna asked out loud. "Shield Wing takes 3 consecutive attacks to be destroyed by battle.", Aki stated, her eyes glued to the game in front of them.

"So that man will need a third monster with more than 900 Attack Points to get rid of it then…", Tsuna pondered.

"And those face-down cards could also prove useful to him. That is, unless our blond friend isn't ill-prepared for what Yusei has in store."

"My turn! I summon activate the Magic Card Tuning Treasure (This is an original card)! By removing a Tuner monster from my Graveyard, I draw 2 cards, and at the End Phase of my turn, I discard my entire hand, and take 400 damage for every card discarded. I remove Quick Synchron from play! Draw!"

He looked to see that he drew Guard Block and Road Runner (Defense Draw and Sonic Chick [respectively] in non-Japan countries).

He smirked. "I set 1 card facedown and summon Road Runner in Defense Mode!" A small pink cartoonish bird with red boots and a belled green scarf and large green eyes appeared, and turned blue while placing its feathered hands/wings over its head, crouching. (ATK 300 DEF: 300, Level 1)

"Road Runner cannot be destroyed in battle by a monster with 1900 or more ATK. And since it's the end of my turn, I have no cards to discard, so my Life Points are safe. Turn end."

"Is that so? I'm not impressed. Draw." The young man spat. He eyed the card and gave a dastardly smirk. "So that's how it is, huh?"

"Uh oh…", Crow stammered. "I don't like his expression."

"I summon Gellenduo in Attack Mode." At that time a duo of tiny fairies, one big-headed green one with one blue pigtail and one wide-headed pink one with two pigtails on either of the two prongs on its head. Both fairies had a faded halo at their waist levels. The green one looked like it was smiling while it had its lower lip biting its top, while the pink one had a bored expression. They both had identical blue spheres for eyes. (ATK: 1700 DEF: 0, Level 4)

"Uh oh. That thing has 1700 ATK." Jack started. "That means Road Runner's a goner!" Crow shrieked.

"Next I will activate the Magic Card 'Fairy Crusher (This is an original card)!" I am now allowed to destroy 1 card on your field for every LIGHT Fairy-Type monster on my field. Say goodbye to you last line of defense!" The young man shouted as lightning erupted from the Magic Card and nearly struck Yusei's two bird monsters.

"Not good!" Wolf Forest yelped. "It those blasts connect, it's over!"

"Trap Card open!", Yusei shouted as his thrust his right arm forward. "Starlight Road! When a card activates that destroys 2 or more cards activate, I can negate and destroy that card!" At that time, Fairy Crusher was struck by a white beam of light and shattered. The young man gritted his teeth.

"After that, I'm allowed to call out Stardust Dragon from my Extra Deck without having to Special Summon him! Reverberate,… STARDUST DRAGON!!" A large burst of beautiful light erupted vertically from the Starlight Road called and solidified into a mass of white matter.

As the light shattered, it was replaced by a beautiful white and teal fleshed bipedal dragon with claws on its five-fingered and three-toed hands and feet, with gel-like patches on its shoulders, knuckles and breasts glistening like jewels with outlines of blue flesh, with hardened patches of scales like armadillo hides around its arms and legs. Its shins were encased in an armor giving its body a mechanical look. It had two fleshy wings growing from its back with its 'feathered' areas with dragon-like thin skin glistening and ruffling like glossy metallic-blue curtains. Its head had three fins with the same blue hides like a shark's curve with ears on its sides connected by a long fleshy neck. Its big, slit yellow eyes and long rows of jagged teeth pursed by blue lips glistened in the sunlight. Its sudden roar was like that of an angel's shriek. (ATK: 2500 DEF: 2000, Level 8)

"Stardust Dragon, huh? That was fast." Jack stated, impressed. The others, minus the group of Aki, Crow, and the twins were amazed.

"Is that… Yusei-san's ace card?" Subaru as Rockman gaped. "It's beautiful!", Luna, Misora as Harp Note, Vogue and Harp swooned. The male members of the crowd responded to Stardust's grand entrance with stupefied faces. "Magnificent…", Utagai as Cygnus Wing found himself saying out loud.

The young blond kimono-wearing eyepatched man, however, remained unfazed by the gargantuan dragon.

"And to think that this Duel could go any more swimmingly for me…", he grinned.

That didn't settle with Jack. "_Kisama_! (Lit. _Bastard_) What are you entailing?!", he yelled surprisingly loud, his right fist shaking violently. Crow, who stood next to him, shielded his ear in pain.

"I am entailing… _this_. Reverse Trap Card, Calling of God's Advent! (This is an original card)"

The group fell silent. "I've never seen that seen that card before…", Jack whispered worryingly.

"Calling of God's Advent is a one-of-a-kind card that only works when my opponent Special Summons a Level 7 or higher monster in Attack Mode."

At that time, he reached for his deck, extracted a card, and the deck shuffled on its own. "IT allows me to add 1 monster with the same Level from me Deck to my hand. However, I cannot Special Summon this turn." He then placed the card into his hand.

"Hmph. No doubt another Level 8 Bringer of Justice – Voltanis.", Jack huffed. "That means Yusei's gonna have to be extra prepared for a Counter Trap.", Crow sighed, distraught.

"But… wait…" Luna started meekly. This caused everyone to turn their heads. "In order to summon Voltanis, every monster is Released to Special Summon it. Won't that put him at a disadvantage?"

It then dawned on Aki, Jack, Crow, Rua and Ruka. "Of course!", Aki spat, sticking out her tongue and lightly slapping her forehead. "Stardust's effect!"

"Stardust's effect…?" Acid asked. "The 'Victim Sanctuary'.", Crow cited smugly, pointing a finger in the air like an intellectual. "When a card's effect involves destroying any of Yusei's cards by an effect, Stardust can Release itself to negate and destroy that card."

"Awesome!", Misora and Harp chirped. "That's not the best part. At the End Phase of a turn when Stardust Releases itself to satisfy its effect, it comes back!", Crow shrieked exuberantly.

"That means Yusei-san has a chance!" Misora and Utagai exclaimed. They then joined hands with Crow, had Rua and Ruka join them, and ran clockwise skipping, jumping and stated giggling like idiots.

Everyone else sweatdropped, minus Jack, who looked mortified. "What the _hell_ are you _**doing**_?! Jack yelled, halting the immature group's victory dance. They all shot Jack a pout, especially Crow. Jack facefaulted.

Yusei saw all this and laughed nervously. "They do have a point. With Stardust's effect, if that card you added is another Voltanis, you won't a chance."

This caused the young man's face to twist into a sickeningly smug smirk. "Maybe it is, maybe it isn't.", he said, fingering the rightmost card in his hand. Yusei grit his teeth.

"Now, Gellenduo, attack Road Runner! Twin Euphoric Burst!"

Upon his command, the two small fairies joined hands and slowly created a large saw-bladed halo of swirling energy, and threw it at amazing speed. The poor Road Runner didn't stand a chance as it has slashed through the middle, its hologram shattering instantly.

"Now Voltanis, eliminate Stardust! Holy Impalement!", the blond young man yelled.

Voltanis rose its staff and thrust its end at Stardust with incredible speed. Stardust Dragon braced for impact."I activate Junk Wall's second effect! By removing it from play from my Graveyard, a Synchro Monster on my field is not destroyed by battle this turn!"

Stardust Dragon grabbed the staff with both clawed hands and was able to get away with a stab to the chest. Yusei clutched his chest in the same spot where his ace card was struck. "This… pain…" (LP: 3800 3500)

This did not go unnoticed by Yusei's circle of friends. "Yusei's in pain?", Crow questioned, his eyes widening. Aki's eyes slowly shrunk. "That feeling… this air… it couldn't be…"

Jack's face hardened, Rua and Ruka had worried glances, and everyone else who was out of the loop exchanged worried glances. It was Wolf Forest who broke the ice, by lightly nudging Aki in the back with a clawed finger. "What's wrong? Something bad?"

"Not bad. _Very_ bad. If this guy is what I think he is…", she trailed off, while slowly reaching the double-drill-shaped device wrapped in the front of her hair, a visibly worried and serious look on her face.

"Are you entailing that this young man is more than he appears to be…?" Sebastian asked politely, a surprisingly perplexed look on his face.

"You can't just suffer pain from a Duel just like that. You'd have to have certain… qualities…", Ruka said depressingly, her right arm grabbing her left upper arm and looking away. She clearly was very concerned.

"And what would you define as… 'qualities'?", Ciel inquired, the eyepatched child unsure of how his question will be answered.

"Only one which certain powers can inflict real world damage through Duels… people like… myself…", Aki muttered loudly, as she lightly touched the device in her hair. As she did, Subaru, Warrock, Sebastian, Tsuna and Reborn felt a slight chill go down their collective spines.

"This feeling…", Tsuna whispered, his brown-turned-orange eyes shrinking.

'_Well. This is certainly interesting…_', Sebastian thought to himself.

"… You'd have to be like me.", Aki said stone-cold with conviction, the scene zooming out enough for the camera view to encompass the entire sidelining group. "A Psychic Duelist!"

The group minus, Jack, Crow, Rua and Ruka, were either taken aback or gasped slightly, even Juro as Wolf Forest going "SAY _WHAT?_".

Acid Ace turned to Aki "You mean as in _the_ Psychic Duelists? Humans with rare psychic abilities who can materialize pain?"

"Humans who can…", Subaru trailed. "…Materialize pain…?", Warrock finished, looking astounded. The other Wizards and EM Seijin materialized besides their partners, astonished by the mere presence of a human with such incredible power – a rarity in itself.

"This is very serious.", Aki began. "If this man is a Psychic Duelist, we are _all_ in a world of hurt."

The young man heard this and smiled. "Are you questioning if I am a Psychic Duelist? How predictable."

"What that supposed to mean?!" Jack and Misora found themselves saying. "If you must know…", he started, his facial expression changing drastically to a darker look. "My powers are simply out of your league. I transcend farther than that of normal psychic powers."

"That's bullshit, and you know it! What are you, some kind of god?!", Crow shook his fist screaming.

The man simply gave off a small, chilly smirk. "Soon, very soon, you won't be that far off, Crow Hogan."

Crow didn't know what was creepier; the way the young man replied, or the fact that he knew Crow's last name. He gulped.

"Soon, when the promised time arrives, this world, nay, all worlds and timelines shall suffer my wrath!", the young man exclaimed. "But for now, I shall end my turn."

"Whoever you are, you're twisted!" "I have a name you know. It's Tenman." "Alright then, Temman. You're going down! Draw!" He looked at his card and realized it to be Half Shut. "I activate the Magic Card Half Shut! By making that monster indestructible by battle, one monster's ATK is halved this turn! And since Gellenduo is destroyed when you take damage, I'll have its ATK to 850!"

"You're as close-minded as they come! Counter Trap Card, Dark Bribe! At the cost of allotting you to draw 1 card, one of your Magic or Trap Card's activation and effect in negated and destroyed!" A blast of light pierced Yusei card, shattering it. More thunder and lightning then occurred. Only this time… it was black with royal purple outlines.

"Black lightning? This can't be good…", Reborn muttered.

Tenman proceeded to raising his arms as if preaching. "Dark judgment of the gods, become beseeched. Descend from the wrathful undercroft of the heavens and wreak hell on this earth!"

A lone bolt of lightning struck the ground beside Voltanis and a large summoning vortex appeared.

"Come forth! Dark King Dragon – Vandalgyon! (Van'Dalgyon the Dark Dragon Lord in non-Japan countries)"

Two clawed, armored arms reached out of the portal and grabbed the rims of the summoning vortex. Slowly, a tall bipedal, maroon-and-royal-purple dragon slowly emerged. It was bejeweled with blue jewels, one on its forehead, its shoulders, its wrists, its legs and its metallic demon-like wings. Its body was decorated by orange lines that ran along its arms, legs, and wings. Its overall appearance looked more like that of a humanoid demon than that of a demon. Its roar shook the surrounding area. (ATK: 2800 DEF: 2500)

"Vandalgyon…?!", Jack choked.

Tenman chuckled darkly. "Then you know what happens next. Vandalgyon can be Special Summoned when my Counter Trap negates the effect of one of your cards. When Vandalgyon is called forth in this way, he activates an effect depending on the negated card's Type."

Jack grimaced. "If a monster was negated, he can Special Summon a monster from his Graveyard. If it was a Trap, he could destroy a card on Yusei's field. But a Magic Card was negated… which means…!"

"Yusei! Suffer 1500 points of damge! Go! Sin Punish Meteor!!"

Vandalgyon formed a large black meteor in his right hand over his head. Roaring, he threw the flaming rock at amazing speed. It collided with Yusei who had barely any time to brace for impact.

"_**!!!!!!!!**_"

The force of the impact blew the nearby WAZA personnel away from the premises, while Subaru showed a sign of quick thinking. "Battle Card! Spirit Barrier!"

A large yellow barrier encompassed the spectators, protecting them from the brunt of the incredible force. However, it was so strong that the 5-hit barrier shattered on contact with the force, leaving the group stranded in a storm of strong winds. Aki and Luna were desperately trying to keep their dresses down to prevent unwanted panty shots.

Yusei, in the other hand, wasn't so lucky. His jacket and pants were badly singed, the orange bulbs in his shoulders, elbows and shins were cracked, and Yusei had a long cut on his forehead over his left eye, bleeding steadily. "……Ow…" (LP: 3800 2300) He then fell to the ground, flat on his face.

"Yusei!!", Aki, Rua, Ruka, Jack and Crow exclaimed. They were about to run to his side, but Tenman released a portion of his power, visible in a violent metallic blue aura and a death glare. The Signers were stopped in their tracks.

Yusei slowly got up, his body shaking from shock, stuttering a few times.

"Get up, Yusei Fudo. I'm not done with you yet."

-

TO BE CONTINUED

-

Next Time: Hell in Heaven


End file.
